Adventure on Snowflake Island
by BloodyMarryMe
Summary: "What could possibly happen on an island with such a tame name?" That was the first thing the Heart Pirates thought when they docked there, while the Strawhats wondered why wasn't it even in a shape of a snowflake then? Both crews will be utterly amazed when two worlds collide and revelation hits them. Dragons and pirates join forces, as their very reality becomes endangered.
1. Chapter 1

The new Christmas special is out! This is a combined effort of Volleys-chan (the author of 'The Dragon Chronicles') and me (author of 'I don't like you!'). In the end, it became a whole Arc so Volleys-chan and I agreed that it should be posted in chapters (it's simply too big to post all at once). So you will be meeting her Strawhats and my Heart Pirates in this story, along with some other interesting characters. ;) I hope you like it! Enjoy our work!

Disclaimer: We do not own One Piece or any of its characters.

* * *

 **Adventure on Snowflake Island**

The galley was eerily quiet, only lit with dim lights now that lunch was over and most pirates already went their own separate ways, back to their duties on the yellow submarine. However, a few shadows stayed sitting stock still in that gloomy atmosphere, surrounded by tense air. They stared at each other in complete silence as if waiting for someone to make the first move.

Six figures stayed in their seats, all glancing at each other with nervous expressions, alertness obvious in their eyes. It was so quiet their every breath could be heard throughout the room.

Sharp green eyes focused on a pair of dark blue ones that almost appeared black in such lighting. Finally daring to break the intense silence, the short redhead spoke up, "Well…here we are…"

"Indeed…here we are…," the bluehead's voice answered back slowly, cautiously.

The two medics gazed across the table, towards their companions. Sitting opposite of Cody was Penguin, the rim of his hat covering most of his face and preventing the others to see what he was thinking at the moment.

Next to him was Shachi, sporting the same serious expression while his eyes hid behind the dark sunglasses. It was good for masking his emotions when playing poker, but this battle was more intense than any game he ever played. A drop of sweat slid down the side of his brow.

Suddenly Cody felt he was being watched and only glanced with the corner of his eyes, not daring to turn his whole head to the side. He should make as little movements as possible; what if others interpret it wrongly and then they all jump towards it at the same time? His breath hitched in his throat and he gulped when he saw two bright golden eyes staring at him intently. They were piercing at his very soul with suspicion in them, as if the girl was able to read his mind. _*No, no, no! Calm down, me, that's impossible. She's only trying to make you nervous…to make you act rashly. But I won't allow it! She's trying to predict my movements…she's good. I mustn't falter here.*_

Miyako suddenly moved her eyes from the medic, to the last pirate at the table; Bepo. Unlike the others, he wasn't even trying to hide his intentions. He had a piece of drool stuck on the fur in the corner of his mouth as he stared in front of him hungrily. _*Bepo might be the first to break…Will he make the first move? If I say something now without thinking about it carefully, I'll seem too desperate and give myself away. Stay calm, Miyako!*_

Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, Cody, Josh and Miyako all sat unmoving in a circle around the table, staring at each other, though their true focus of attention was in front of them all.

They all thought the same thing as they continued their silent battle that was mentally straining their minds, while every muscle in their body stayed tense to act in a blink of an eye if need be.

 _*That last piece of cake is mine!*_

In the middle of the table was a plate with a piece of chocolate cake on it, filled with cherry custard and topped with fluffy white cream.

Right in the middle of their meal, Munk came over and told them he had one piece of dessert left and innocently left it there on the table for no one in particular. The second that plate hit the metal table, making a ringing sound that hit their ears at once, the battle had started. They knew this prize will go to the one who finished eating first so they all started quickening their pace, trying to be as inconspicuous about it as possible. It was a strenuous first part of their efforts, that required both finesse and speed, but the race finished in a draw. Hence, they found themselves in this pat position with all of them surrounding that one piece of cake. They didn't know how much time has passed, but all the other Hearts already left the galley and the kitchen was closed. Even Munk retired to his quarters, shutting most of the lights behind him. Nobody dared to move because they knew if only one was to reach for it, all hell would break loose and all of them would try to grab it at the same time. They would start fighting and in the end the poor cake would probably get destroyed…or worse, the whole galley. It wouldn't be the first time as they all already had experience with how things finish when they start fighting for food; with them getting beaten up by Munk and getting scolded or punished by Captain. No, this battle wasn't just about speed or force…it was about the right timing. They needed to outwit their opponents and strike at the right time to get this dessert!

Joshua gritted his teeth. _*What was Munk thinking, naively leaving that one piece of cake for the six of us!?*_ Suddenly his eyes widened at the thought. * _Wait! Was it really a coincidence, just an innocent gesture? Would Munk really make such a mistake?! Could it be he planned this from the start!? Did he tempt us on purpose!? Is he the Devil!?*_ The medic's heart started beating loudly in his chest, the thumping resonating in his ears as his paranoia increased. He started sweating, gazing at the five other characters at the table. Was it just his imagination or were they all grinning at him evilly? What were they planning!? He gulped loudly, imagining that the sound of his racing heartbeat could be heard throughout the galley. _*No…I must calm down! I can't lose to them now!*_ He glared atBepo across the table, seeing the bear's ear twitch nervously. _*Bepo might be the first to break! I just need to hold out until he does.*_

Shachi opened his mouth lightly and all eyes quickly darted in his direction. Everyone were expecting what his next move will be. "Oh boy…everyone else already left. If we don't get back to our workplaces soon, we'll get scolded by Captain," he sighed dramatically to emphasize his point.

 _*So that's the card you're playing with! You're pretending you don't care about the dessert, while trying to remind us of our duties! What a shrewd move, but nobody's gonna fall for that!*_

Penguin cleared his throat. "R-right." He tried to will his lips to smile nonchalantly, though there was tension in his cheeks. "Cody…don't you have this shift in the infirmary? If nobody's there-"

Before he could even finish, Cody calmly cut him off, "Ben is there so it's fine."

Penguin filched, "I-I see…" _*Dammit, that Spiky-hair is too good! I can't find any openings to attack at all!*_

Miyako's stare darted towards Shachi and Penguin. _*I see…those bastards teamed up! Penguins tried to back up Shachi's statement so that they could get rid of us together and then share the prize. But it won't be that easy!*_

Cody turned his head towards her. "What about you, Miya-chan?"

The samurai's lips quirked upward in a smirk. "Since I work in the galley, my work is done until dinner," she explained with a taunting glint in her eyes. _*So now you're trying their tactic too, Cody?! Like I'll fall for that!*_ Instead, she gazed at the one who seemed the closest to collapsing under this pressure. "But Bepo…Don't you usually eat fish? Are you really alright with this chocolate cake…it's really sweet, you know." Her voice trailed off as she tried to appear as innocent as possible while simply making a remark, worried about him. She didn't want to seem too forward about it.

Bepo was silent for a while, licking that piece of drool from his lips as his ear twitched twice. "Ah…you're right…And since nobody else is eating it, then I won't either…," he answered with a sigh, leaning his head on his hand and staring at the distant wall on the left, as if simply seeing the cake was suddenly insulting to him.

 _*Ha! I did it! One out and four to go!*_ However, her glee wasn't long-lasting as realization hit her. Suddenly she became suspicious again. _*Wait, wasn't this way too easy?! I said that about fish to throw him off, but the truth is I saw Bepo eating sweats before too. Besides, it's not like he's leaving…he's still here. It's like he's just waiting for us to go, but that must be a ruse. He doesn't want it, my ass! It's obviously a trap. He said he won't have it, but he's just pretending so everyone else would give up and say they don't want it either. Then he'll say something like 'Well if nobody else is having it, then I might as well…We don't want it to go to waste.' That's right! That's his plan, I'm sure of it!*_

"Well if Bepo isn't eating it, then neither am I," Penguin suddenly broke the silence, making everyone jump.

"Aah…then me too," Shachi trailed after him.

 _*There it is!*_ Miyako's thoughts rang in her mind while her eyes narrowed. _*But what should I do now? If I say 'Then I'll take it' they'll surely accuse me of trying to take advantage of the situation and then suddenly everyone will start saying they'll eat it. I can't let that happen…in that case, the only way is to go along with this. Nobody will dare to try and eat it now so we'll all have to say we don't want it…*_ She nodded to agree with the head mechanics. "You're right…Then, I won't eat it either."

Cody and Joshua looked at each other, before the taller medic shrugged and waved his hand in the air dismissively. "If you guys won't have it, it wouldn't be fair for me to take it either."

The redhead gulped painfully, staring at Cody with sharp eyes. _*Dammit, after Cody said it wouldn't be fair, I can't say 'Then if nobody else will take it, I will' now. They would all jump at my throat and destroy my every chance to take the cake, in an instant! That damned medic! And what about Bepo; he's shrewder than I thought. Pretending to not want it, he turned the tables on all of us. And here I thought he would break, the damned bear!*_ The redhead laughed nervously in that strained atmosphere. All eyes were cautiously watching him and he felt like he was standing on the very brink of a deep, black chasm. One wrong step and he would be falling in that abyss forever! No, one wrong move, and these jerks would push him down! They were all just waiting greedily for a chance. "Then…I guess no one is eating it," he finally agreed through gritted teeth.

Suddenly the air changed around everyone as they pretended not to care about the cake anymore. Miyako even started chatting with Shachi and Penguin about something irrelevant. Yet nobody moved from the table, since that would mean defeat for them. They were all just waiting for the right moment to make their move, only pretending to be relaxed and uncaring.

 _*Somebody needs to make the first move…as easygoing as possible. Otherwise, their intentions would be too obvious,*_ the girl thought.

 _*Come on….someone act already!*_ Penguin screamed in his head while he smiled politely at the samurai girl.

"T-then…I guess we should just leave it here and get back to work," Shachi proposed with a fake smile.

"Right, right!" Bepo agreed with a wide grin.

The others nodded as well, all smiling as if in relief that this situation finally ended. Even so, not one soul left the table. They all waited for someone else to start getting up, but nobody did, leaving them all to continue sitting there.

"So…I guess you should be going to the engine room now," Miyako tried, staring at Penguin and Shachi with a stiff smile and sweat on her cheek.

"Yeah….and Cody and Josh should head out to the infirmary," Shachi continued, trying to avert the focus from the mechanics to the medics.

"Miyako, I think you were needed by Captain, actually," Bepo innocently added, though there was obvious hidden intent in his statement.

"You too Bepo, you are the first mate after all….shouldn't you be in the control room?" The samurai answered through gritted teeth, not wanting to back down from this fight.

A loud noise sounded through the galley as the doors slammed open. Instead of turning their heads to the entrance and focusing their attention on the newcomer, all the pirates decided to take that chance to act, thinking the others would be distracted. Unfortunately, they all had the same train of thought and ended up jumping towards the piece of cake at the same time.

"What the hell are you doing?" A booming voice threw everyone's focus off the cake, but it was too late to stop. Instead, the Hearts lost their concentration and all bumped into one another, falling to the ground and toppling the metal table over in the process. A loud crash made everyone flinch and close their eyes, but as the room calmed down nobody dared to open them. They all recognized that voice just now.

Miyako opened one eye only, fixating it on the pointy black shoes in front of her. Her gaze traveled upwards, up the spotted jeans and the dark blue sweater with the yellow grinning smile of their Jolly Roger on the chest. Finally, she opened both eyes and winced when she saw that dark gaze piercing her from above, staring down at her. She could see the knotted eyebrows beneath the fuzzy hat.

Captain!" Penguin was the one who exclaimed first as he struggled back to his feet, untangling from Cody's and Joshua's legs in the process. "We were just….uh….Discussing the plans for…engines…?" He trailed off, lost in his own bad lie.

"Idiot," Shachi mumbled next to the other mechanic, giving him a slap to the back of his head which almost made Penguin's hat fall down.

"You were supposed to be in your places and working, 30 minutes ago," Law cut off any explanation as his stormy eyes only darkened more.

"Whoa, has it already been that long," the first mate exclaimed in surprise.

 _*Crap, he's really mad.*_ Miyako tried to appear as small as possible, hoping the man wouldn't notice her. She slowly stood up, hiding behind the big bear. That's when she heard a smacking sound coming from above, right from his snout. The others heard it too and they all slowly turned towards Bepo who was chewing on something.

"The cake…you ate the cake?" Josh mumbled in disbelief.

The bear wasn't chewing anymore, but the plate on the floor was completely empty with only crumbs left. Bepo admitted nothing though, as he suspiciously turned his beady black eyes to stare at the side, avoiding their gazes. "I….have no idea what you're talking about," he mumbled. He didn't sound overly truthful, especially since there were brown smudges accusingly staining his white fur around his mouth.

"You're a terrible liar!" Shachi grabbed the collar of his orange jumpsuit, bringing him down so he could inspect the bear's fishy expression.

"Yeah, don't lie when your fur's obviously stained with chocolate!" Penguin yelled in return. "You waited for all of us to let our guard down so you could eat the whole cake yourself!" The head mechanic continued with the accusations, as if that wasn't exactly what _he_ was planning to do too only a minute ago.

"So you wanted it after all, even though you said you didn't. It was all a ruse!" Joshua added, also attacking the poor bear, while pretending to be oblivious of the fact that they were all trying to accomplish the same thing. It was easier to pretend innocence now when they had someone to blame.

Even Cody sighed, crossing the arms on his chest and shaking his head in disparagement. "I'm disappointed in you, Bepo."

"I'm sorry…" The bear sniffed sadly.

 _*They're all teaming up on him now and pushing all the blame on him,*_ Miyako sweatdropped at the sight. However, weren't they all forgetting something? That thought nagged the samurai in the back of her mind as she frowned and tilted her head, trying to remember.

They were all so focused on that cake that they forgot about the real threat standing behind them. The pirates all grimaced when a deadly aura sent shivers down their spines, a cold atmosphere coming right from behind them. In that dim room, all sound ceased as nobody dared to speak or even turn around to see the horror awaiting them. Nobody dared to look over their shoulder. In that darkness, a slow but steady sound reached their ears. It was the sound of scrapping metal, as Law slowly unsheathed his nodachi from its scabbard.

They all turned around with tearful eyes, seeing their doom standing there. "Kyaaaaah! We're sorryyyy!"

~…~

Trafalgar sat in the control room, clearing his throat as Sai spread a map in front of his captain. "As I was saying, we are approaching a new island. It's a winter one," he continued from his previous explanation. The map showed a fairly large area with cliffs surrounding most of the island on one side, while the island was perfectly straight on the other. There was a shallow part where the port was probably situated, but the other side gave off a strange feel of evenness that shouldn't be possible.

"I see…," Miyako muttered, though she was mostly concerned with the ache on her head. She had a large bump on her head and so did Bepo, who was sitting beside her. They both looked like scolded children, ready to burst in tears as they nursed their painful bumps that their Captain gave them.

The young navigator frowned as he stared at both of them. "What happened to you two?"

Trafalgar innocently stayed quiet, as if that didn't have anything to do with him at all. He even avoided the dirty stare Miyako gave him in response to Sai's question.

Instead, the first mate answered, only confusing the navigator further. "Cake," he winced.

"We can emerge and continue rest of the way on the surface, Captain. The sea is calm enough," Jean Bart's voice brought them back to reality.

Law nodded and gave the order while Sai returned to his seat and started pulling a lever slowly, pushing on the buttons of the control panel with inhuman speed. Meanwhile, the larger navigator took the helm and slowly pulled it towards himself, bringing the vessel's tip towards the surface.

"Everyone prepare for surfacing!" Sai's voice called into the den den mushi, which transported the warning throughout the submarine. The red flashing lights started blinking through the ship's halls, warning everyone to brace themselves for the usual turbulence when passing from the underwater to the sea surface.

The usual tension passed through Miyako's stomach when she felt the sudden pressure of the moving submarine while it sailed upwards in a light angle. If they went up too vertically there would be too many damages and injured along the way, so Bart had to be careful to keep the ship steady and only slowly rise upwards.

A crashing of water hit the submarine's glass windows, as the vessel noisily rose to the surface. A light sunshine broke through the clouds and traveled into the control room, but it appeared to be cold outside despite the rays. They had already entered the island's winter climate.

As the submarine stopped shaking, Miyako sighed. She glanced at Law warily, knowing he was still irritated at her from before. "So…what is this new island's name?"

~….~

"Snowflake Island?" Even without the disgusted tone, the disappointed frown on Joshua's face said what he thought of that name.

After a while of sailing through the cold sea, avoiding a few glaciers along the way while going for the island, The Heart pirates ran up to the deck when Sai finally announced they saw land ahead. They all wore winter coats with their usual white overalls underneath, and thick hats and high work boots to keep them warm. Most didn't seem to mind the cold weather and actually enjoyed themselves, since they were used to even colder climates of North Blue.

The samurai girl wasn't one of them, though, so she kept her hands securely in the warm pockets of her plaid winter coat. She even put the hood on top of her head, trying to keep her freezing ears warm.

"Is that a problem," she asked the medic with puzzled eyes, seeing his disgruntled expression.

"Oh no, I can just see all the action and adventure happening on _Snowflake_ Island," the redhead rolled his eyes.

"You're overthinking it," Cody sighed beside the other medic.

"It doesn't really look like a snowflake," the bear tilted his head to the side in question as he remembered the charted island on the map. Unlike the others, he didn't wear anything other than his usual orange jumpsuit and boots for the cold. The polar bear was actually delighted by it.

"Yeah…maybe half of a snowflake at best," the girl mentioned in thought.

"I'm just saying, Snowflake sounds like a name for a cat…not an island where pirates should dock," Joshua shrugged.

"Now you're just talking nonsense Joshua!" Kai got involved in their discussing as he stepped near the railing, beside the others.

Cody and Miyako nodded with agreement towards the sous chef.

Kai continued, "Everyone knows if you have a cat, you should name it Tama!"

The others almost fell over the railing with that ridiculous reason. * _That's what he's worried about?! That's not the problem here,*_ Miyako couldn't help but scream in her head.

"I don't even know how your head works!" Joshua yelled back at Kai in annoyance.

"If you have a problem with it, then go file a complaint to the island's legislation board and ask them to change the name," Cody answered sarcastically. His eyebrow twitched, though he tried to remain calm even as he felt he was surrounded by idiots.

"That is, unless they call the marines to arrest you, first." A new voice came from behind them as Trafalgar appeared from inside the darkness of the submarine, clad in his black coat with the Hearts' Jolly Roger on it, and the nodachi resting on his shoulder. He glanced at the short medic with a teasing smirk on his lips, which went well with his statement.

The redhead grinned with closed eyes, fixing the cap on top of his head. He opened them to look at Trafalgar, his confident smirk never wavering as he was sure Law was just pulling his leg. "Oh come on Captain, what could possibly happen on an island with such a mellow name?"

(a/n: _Tama_ is a common, very cliché name for a cat in Japan.)

~…..~

The snow beneath their feet made crackling sounds as the pirates walked closer to the town up ahead. They could already see the first pointy roofs of the buildings, while the rest still hid behind white slopes of snow.

The contact group chosen to get to the town first consisted of the two head mechanics, Joshua, Cody, Bepo, Miyako and, of course, their captain. Law decided it would be wiser to first go and explore the island with a smaller group so the islanders wouldn't feel too threatened of their presence. He didn't really want them calling the marines or arming themselves, thinking they were being attacked by pirates. Besides, it was easier to stay inconspicuous that way and learn more about the island, so he could gather some useful information.

He could hear the excited chatter of the crew around him, mostly by Penguin and Shachi, who were already discussing their newest tactic on how to pick up girls on this island. Beside him, his first mate, Bepo trotted with the heavy nodachi, Kikoku, in his large paws. The bear appeared giddy as well, but for a different reason; after spending days inside the submarine, he was happy to finally enjoy some fresh air and a climate of his liking. The polar bear always cheered up, forgetting his gloomy self for a while, when they would arrive to a winter island.

The captain's musings were interrupted when a familiar voice came from his right. "Is there a special reason why you decided to dock on Snowflake island of all places? There were a few others around this area, weren't there?" There wasn't a tone of discontent in that voice, only simple observation and curiosity. He turned his head to see the samurai girl walking alongside him, her hands stuffed deeply in the warm pockets of her winter coat and the hood on her head. With her every breath, mist formed and traveled past her lips. She gave him a curious glance when the captain responded with a mysterious smirk.

For a moment he stayed silent, only presenting that smirk to her, and enjoyed the impatient look she was trying to hide. He could tell from her scrunched up nose and the slightly furrowed eyebrows, even as she tried to feign his stalling wasn't bothering her. Finally releasing her from her curiosity, Law started to explained, "Yes, there is a reason. I found an old and interesting book some time ago, referencing this very island." Pleased that he got her full attention with that introduction, he proceeded, "Apparently there is an old legend concerning this place. It is said that on a certain night, only once a year, something inexplicable happens to this island. A great power engulfs Snowflake Island and it changes even the reality here." He could see Miyako's confused expression, but only shrugged in response. "The details stay unclear to this day. The book was dated more than 100 years ago, describing the memoirs of a traveling writer called William A. Rudolf, who found himself on this island at the time and wrote about the strange changes that affected the island right after midnight. He called it the Chime's Eve as the whole thing supposedly started after the last chime of the clock striking midnight. Many adventurers who read his book traveled to Snowflake island afterwards, trying to experience what he wrote about, but he never said on which night this phenomena occurs so they never saw any proof of it. He didn't know how to explain the phenomena either, and his memoires are artistic rather than scientific, so it was hard to tell what the whole thing was really about. In the end, people stopped believing him and simply wrote it off as a legend.

Miyako hummed in thought, "I know you're curious, but I never thought you'd chase after legends." She couldn't help but tease him, so she gave him an amused smirk, "When did you become such a romantic?"

"Hn, I'm not," the captain scowled. "It was merely a convenient opportunity since we were already close to the island, that is all. I don't expect to find any real evidence of that legend…it is merely a myth, nothing more. It was probably just a story for the islanders to attract tourists in the first place," he cynically concluded.

The girl's glee never faded as she noticed her little jab worked on him. She looked up at the sky filled with white thick clouds as her smile widened. "Who knows Captain-san, maybe this will be your lucky night…A night of miracles,~" she sang while joking.

Trafalgar had to keep himself from rolling his eyes in response, only muttering one word as the answer, "Ridiculous."

"Look, we're here!" They're conversation was interrupted by Shachi's excited voice as he pointed at the town spreading before them. Dark red and black rooftops pointed to the sky, as the houses and shops surrounded them. The architecture was old-looking, but not in the run-down kind of way. Instead, the aged appearance gave the whole town a certain picturesque charm. The allure was magnified by the decorative black and red insignias and ornaments on the walls or roofs of the buildings. Colorful lights throughout the streets gave the town a glittering demeanor. The town finished with a cliff that looked down at the ice-cold sea below. The houses were all placed in a semi-circle, built around a small town square of the same shape, covered with light grey cobblestone. One part of the square was raised up higher than the other, presenting a stone platform that was also a semi-circle in shape and ending with a sharp straight cut where the edge of the cliff was. Rising to tower over the platform was a high bell tower with a large clock on it and a black baroque-styled roof.

"Wow…," Penguin's mouth gaped as his lips formed a large smile.

Just then, gentle flakes of snow fluttered down from the sky, giving the whole scene an even more appealing appearance.

"It's so pretty," Miyako commented as she stared at a certain ornament that stretched on the upper wall of a house, from one corner to the other.

The people around them seemed genuinely cheerful, and even though some noticed the unusual group that were obviously pirates judging from their Jolly Roger on the clothes, none showed any sign of alarm. The pedestrians gave them curious glances now and again as they passed by, but there weren't any stares of fear the Hearts were used to.

What's more, it appeared the townsfolk were preparing for some kind of event, as the high platform was being decorated.

"I have a good feeling about this island," Penguin commented in barely contained excitement. Beside him, the first mate was nodding in agreement.

"Don't relax yet, we still don't know what's in store for us here. Stay on your guard," the captain warned with a serious look, making Penguin and Bepo stiffen a little.

"So where to first, captain?" Cody asked, putting his hands on his hips in thought.

"A bar!" Both mechanics exclaimed cheerfully at the same time as if they completely forgot what Law warned them about just seconds ago.

"A fish store!?" Bepo suggested when he saw the others were throwing their suggestions too.

Joshua's eyebrow twitched in anger, "You guys…what did Captain Law just say?!"

"Then should we ask around for information. Maybe we can find out more about the Chime's Eve," Miyako pointed her index finger in the air with a grin.

"Don't ignore me!" The redhead yelled back when his warnings didn't bear any fruit and the pirates simply continued to chat.

Trafalgar sighed in exasperation, realizing that this will be a long day. "Cody-ya and Joshua-ya, you go and find out when the log pose sets. Penguin and Shachi, go and look for an inn to stay in. Bepo and Miss Miyako, you come with me, we'll explore the town. I want to make sure there's nothing suspicious going on around here. It would be troublesome if the islanders are involved with the marines…it wouldn't be the first time that happened to us," the captain took a deep breath after giving his orders, remembering that night on Windmill Hill. "We'll meet up in the town's tavern afterwards. And everyone…be careful and stay together so they can't surprise you," he finally warned.

"Aye, aye captain!" The pirates nodded, heading to follow the man's orders.

Law handed Bepo his nodachi again, as him and Miyako walked further into town.

"Maybe we can find a library, to find out more about this island. It must have an interesting history with such an old legend," the samurai commented.

Law scowled. "You're still hung up on that? We have work to do Miss Miyako, and it's not to follow things up for your amusement. You can do that in your own spare time."

She pouted in response, "You say that, but I hardly get any alone time when we're on an island. Especially since you always think I'll get into trouble, so you drag me along with you," she argued, waving her hand dismissively.

"That's because you _do_ always get into trouble," the captain's serious expression lightened in a small teasing smirk as he watched her with the corners of his eyes.

"In that case…Bepo can come with me," Miyako chirped, grabbing the bear's arm and leaning on him. He was too tall for her to properly lean on his shoulder, so she just stayed clinging to his arm.

"Eeeh? But I want to stay with Captain," the polar bear almost whined.

Trafalgar gave the girl a victorious smirk since the bear was, as always, on his side.

Miyako ignored Law's expression and whispered to the bear, "We can stop by the market and I'll buy you fresh fish." She was unwilling to give up.

She could see the obvious change in Bepo's demeanor as he stiffened, his one ear twitching as her quiet words reached him. A glint appeared in his beady black eyes and he unconsciously licked his lips.

"S-sorry Captain…I'm too weak to resist fish!" He bowed his head down to Law, signaling his defeat as he decided to support Miyako after all. The girl cheered next to him, grinning widely at her victory.

Law's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "So I lose to fish? You treacherous bear," he gave his first mate a dirty look.

Bepo instantly winced and bowed his head even lower. "I'm sorry!"

However, Law had no intention of losing either and both him and Miyako could be equally stubborn, not that he would ever admit such a thing. "Yet I'm the one who gives out orders and has the finally say, so if you should be begging anyone for anything, it should be me." He stepped closer to the girl, towering over her as he drew towards her face.

The girl raised her eyebrow and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "You'd like that, wouldn't you." Before Law could retort, already opening his mouth to come back with some snarky remark, no doubt, the girl cut him off. She noticed people working on the high platform at the town square, as they set up the decorations. "Look, it seems like they're preparing for something. Let's go check it out," she suggested, already dragging Bepo with her. The bear stuttered to protest lightly, but it didn't do him much good. He wasn't the only one who had something to say about Miyako taking the initiative.

The captain frowned, trying to call out to her. "Miss Miyako, wait-"

The girl spun around on her heels, grinning back at the man. "You're the one who said you wanted to explore the town. Now's your chance." She shrugged with an excited smile before hurrying over to the platform.

Trafalgar truly did roll his eyes this time as he sighed, since this time there were no witnesses around him who would see such a childish act. He couldn't help it though, since the girl was already testing his patience, purposely no doubt, and they only just arrived on the island. Rather reluctantly he strolled over to the platform where Miyako and Bepo were already standing and watching the locals work on something.

The girl wasted no time before she started to chat with one of the townsfolk, a brawny fellow who looked as if built for physical labor, while he was setting another beam on the platform as he talked.

"A Winter Festival?" Miyako repeated the man's words in a curious tone just as Trafalgar joined them. They were well into the conversation when the captain decided to listen in.

The large man nodded just before hammering another nail into the beam with vigorous strikes. "Ya, it's our annual winter festival. We also have a summer festival, but this one's bigger since it's considered more important."

Bepo tilted his furry head to the side. "Why is that?"

At first the man just stared at the bear, trying to process that the animal just asked him a question. Then again, that same bear was standing on his hind legs and wearing clothes, which was strange enough in itself.

"Tha New World is really a wondrous place, huh…?" The man suddenly muttered as if he was talking to himself, rather than answering the group.

The pirates blinked at him in question. "Huh?"

"Aah, no, never mind…Imma just thinkin' that one day I'll be able to tell my grandkids I met a talkin' bear." He shook his head and took a cigarette from behind his ear, lighting it. Even though the man talked of his disbelief, he seemed strangely calm by the whole scene. Perhaps he was just one of those level-headed people who was able to stay cool no matter the situation. He puffed a breath of smoke in the pirates' direction before continuing. "Ah, sorry, where was I? Right, tha Winter Festival. It's a tradition that dates long before our oldest resident was even born. People believed that by celebrating with dancin' and music, they could ward off evil spirits. So they organized a festival in winter every year to do so. Well, nobody believes in that anymore…we just have tha festival as part of tha Snowflake island tradition, ya know? Good for tourism."

"Seems like you have a lot of superstitions on this island," the captain muttered cynically, remembering the legend he discussed with Miyako a while ago. He got a warning frown for his snarky remark from the girl, but ignored it.

The man in front of him didn't look offended though, which actually ticked Law off just a little bit. He was sure the people here were superstitious and that the man would instantly start defending their beliefs. That, however, didn't happen. Perhaps the man had more common sense than the pirate expected.

"We're not such a backwater town as ye would expect, though we do hold some of our traditions important. I don't think there's anythin' wrong with that." The man let out another breath of smoky air.

"So what will happen on this platform?" Miyako examined the unfinished stage that was forming under the hands of the workers. They were setting up a wooden pavilion there, which had carved ornaments on it, similar to ones painted on the houses.

The man grinned as if she just asked a very interesting question. "Oh, here's where our main event will be held."

Bepo's ears perked up in curiosity. Miyako's would do the same if she could. Almost at the same time, the two asked, "What main event?"

Behind them, Trafalgar muttered in a grumble, "Pointless…"

The muscular man ignored the captain, still grinning at the two looking up at him, while he crouched on the platform. He winked at them. "Ya'll just have to wait and see for yeselves." The man laughed when both of their faces fell in disappointment, as if they were children who were just denied a treat.

"It happens at midnight," the man continued. "But Imma sure ye'll find lots to do until then to kill tha time. For now, everyone's still preparing for tha festival, but hey, tha tavern's always open," the man grinned jokingly.

As the pirates looked around the town square, they could see the locals were setting up their stands and preparing for tonight. That meant they still had a few hours to kill before sundown when the festival starts.

"If you're finished here, we might as well go meet up with the others," Trafalgar concluded, though it sounded more like an order than a question.

The tone wasn't lost to his comrades so they bid farewell to their new acquaintance before turning to leave the town square behind.

Bepo gazed around at the colorful lights which appeared like sparkling stars above them. The snow was falling a bit harder now, but the day remained nice and clear, although cold. "At least it doesn't look like there are any marines here. The people don't smell suspicious," he commented.

The samurai laughed and even Law smirked. "Well you can't fool Bepo's sharp nose," she smiled, tapping her own nose for emphasis.

"I hope the others found more _useful_ information," Trafalgar noted as they walked through the crowded street.

"Are you telling me finding out about the Winter Festival wasn't useful?" Miyako frowned. "Spoilsport."

He didn't look offended by her comment though, and only smirked. "Play in your own free time."

The girl took a few quick steps in front of her captain and turned towards him, her dark blue hair tied in a ponytail with the usual red ribbon swished behind her. Two large golden eyes stared back at the man with a mirthful glint in them. "I bet that by the time we are to leave this island, you'll be having fun too."

"Oh?" Law's smirk became a bit wider. "That's quite a risky wager…and what will you be betting on, hmm?" There was a mischievously evil expression on his face as he stared at the girl with both interest and amusement, already plotting something in that dangerous mind of his.

Nevertheless, Miyako wouldn't back down. She was well aware of what that rare expression meant, but stayed unafraid, although suddenly a bit more cautious. She pointed her index finger in the air as she stated, "I have a good feeling about this island. And it wouldn't kill you to lose that stick now and then."

Trafalgar raised his eyebrow in puzzlement. "What stick?"

The girl grinned, "The one you keep in your a-"

"Captain!"

A new but familiar voice reached their ears as Cody came running down the street, towards the group.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be with Josh, asking about the log pose?" The polar bear frowned, thinking the medic was skipping out from his duties.

Cody scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression as he stared back at his captain. "That's the thing…we have a problem. It's Josh…" He had a hard time putting it in words, probably trying to soften the blow for Law whose face was already slowly darkening, expecting trouble. Unfortunately, he wasn't far off.

~…~

"Say that again, you bastard!" The redhead's voice boomed through the street, overpowering all other sounds. It wasn't that hard considering there was utter silence all around him, with spectators frightfully watching the scene unfolding before them. Only Joshua and the man standing in front of him could be heard, shouting at each other, while other people stood surrounding the duo and watching them in worry.

"I'll tell ya tha same thing no matter how many times ya ask, ya damn pipsqueak! Yar nothing but a shrimp, yet ya call yaself a pirate! Ha!" A man twice Josh's size towered over the medic with his hand ready to grab Joshua's collar in the heat of the moment. The man was bulky, with a bushy golden beard and the same colored mane on his head that stuck out from under a red kerchief. Two entirely black eyes glared into green angry ones.

"You're one to talk. I've never even heard of your little pirate crew…what was it, the Sewer Rats?" The medic narrowed his eyes as he answered the larger man in a mocking tone. The young man stood his ground in front of the older pirate, unafraid even as the other grabbed the front of his boiler suit. Josh only glared daggers even more at the pirate, preparing to use the scalpels carefully hidden in the inside of his sleeve.

"That's _Sea Rats_ , ya bastard!" The man lifted Joshua up from the ground, until his boots were dangling in the air. "An' yer scrawny Hearts' capn' got nothin' on our capn'!"

Joshua always had a temperamental personality, but when it came to certain things, he hardly had any patience for them. Insulting his captain was one of those things. Hearing the bastard in front of him badmouth Trafalgar Law was the last straw and his restraint snapped in two. He was just about to swiftly take out one of his scalpels and lodge it deep into the other's eye socket until it pierced his brain, when his whole world suddenly changed. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't in the other man's grip anymore, but standing near the crowd of people that looked as confused as he was. Instead, the large pirate was holding a piece of wood in his hands, which the man now stared at in wonder, as if trying to make sure it was really there. At the same time, a flash of silver light passed beneath the pirate's eye and the man stumbled backwards, almost falling onto the ground from surprise. With furrowed eyebrows he stared down to see a girl leaning forward in a pose a few steps away, her katana unsheathed in her right hand and glistening on the afternoon sun. Her pale face was hidden behind long bangs, but when she lifted her head, the pirate could see two golden eyes staring calmly at him, ready for any move he might make.

The large pirate opened his mouth to protest, but a deep voice that came from the crowd was quicker. "What was it you were saying?" There was obvious scorn in that tone as a tall man stepped out from the crowd and before the pirate. He was dressed in a black winter coat, with a fuzzy spotted hat with its rim hiding his sleep-deprived grey eyes. A long nodachi was leaning loosely on his shoulder, before a tanned hand with the letters DEATH tattooed on its knuckles grabbed the hilt and slowly took out the sword from its cover. It made a grinding sound as metal sang in a high pitch while the long blade slid from its sheath. "Not bad for a scrawny Hearts' captain, hm?" A smirk that played on Trafalgar Law's lips widened, making his expression even more menacing.

Cody sighed, still standing in the crowd of locals. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Now you've done it," he muttered, talking to the unknown pirate. "Now you've made captain angry."

"Hmpf! He'll get what's coming to him," Bepo commented angrily since he hated to hear someone badmouth his captain even more than Joshua did.

Still staring at the long coat, the pirate finally noticed a yellow grinning Jolly Roger on the side of the hem. Widening his eyes, he finally realized who was standing before him. "Surgeon of Death, ey?" However, the startled expression soon turned into a frustrated one. The man gritted his teeth, trying to get over his embarrassment of being humiliated in front of the public. He glared at the five Heart pirates standing in front of him; a redheaded shorty, a Wano samurai girl, a polar bear, a guy with spiky blue hair and the captain himself. The pirate grinned, his eyes still burning with rage behind his dark irises, as he slowly pulled a large axe from the sheath on his brawny back. "Don't go thinkin' ya can frighten me, old Glenavon Smithies. The marines nicknamed me The Executioner, with good reason, boy!"

Law felt irked at the derogatory nickname the pirate named Smithies just used for him. He stayed silent, examining the man bigger and brawnier than him, yet hardly appeared impressed by it.

"I had everything under control, you know. I can take this guy on my own," Joshua muttered, standing between Miyako and Law.

"Hey, don't be rude to Captain!" Bepo warned, yelling from the sidelines, where he was standing next to Cody. Though when Joshua glared at him in irritation, the bear quickly lowered his head and shut his mouth.

"I don't doubt it…so make it quick. We shouldn't attract unnecessary attention to ourselves," Trafalgar answered blankly. He seemed bored by the man shouting threats in front of them and simply turned around to leave, unconcerned by the pirate behind him.

Miyako sighed, glancing at the gathering crowd of locals around them. "I think that ship sailed a while ago. Also, I just want to mention the fact that I wasn't the one who got into trouble this time," she added, beaming with pride.

The Heart Pirates stared at her in silence with blank gazes.

"What? Just putting it out there…," the girl shrugged.

Smithies ground his teeth hard enough for other people to hear and grimace at the sound. His face reached a new shade of red as he boiled in anger for being ignored by the pirates. "Don't ignore me, ya bastards!" He swung his large battle axe, ready to swing it down onto Joshua's head, but all the axe hit was snow, sending pieces of dirt and ice everywhere. Miyako and Law stepped to the side, away from the weapon, but the third Heart pirate was nowhere to be found.

Smithies narrowed his eyes in suspicion before sensing a presence behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw the small medic crouching by his ankles, with one of his scalpels between his fingers. He swung it in one fluid motion, aiming for the man's ankles which would render him unable to stand instantly. Surprisingly, the large pirate was faster than his appearance would let on, and he jumped into the air, bringing his axe down into a horizontal swing and aiming for Josh's head.

"Watch out!" The other medic called out to his crewmate, though it was hardly necessary.

The redhead was already in the air, dodging the strike and landing on top of the giant weapon before using it as a foothold to pounce at the man and jab a scalpel into his skull. "Haa!" Joshua yelled as he engulfed his scalpel with haki so it would be hard enough to pierce even through stone, let alone this man's head.

Just when the two were about to clash in a heat of battle, a loud sound traveled through the air. It was a sound of a string being pulled on an instrument, creating a melodic noise. A flash of light enveloped the pirates, blinding even the people surrounding them. When the light disappeared, leaving only the colorful gentle light of the decorative lights on the street, a light melody filled the air.

"Someone is playing….a lute?" Miyako blinked, trying to find the source of this strange new occurrence.

However, that wasn't the strangest thing. Only then did the people realize that both Smithies and Joshua were completely unmoving as if frozen in the exact moment where everyone's eyes left them. Only their footprints remained as proof of a struggle that occurred there in the snowy street.

"What's going on?!" Cody stared at the two bodies, which stayed as still as statues like they were pieces of art displaying a scene from a pirate's life. There was no sign of his medic friend even being alive. Miyako and Law used their Kenbunshoku Haki to search for the source of this occurrence, but they only noticed a flickering power emitted somewhere close by. They couldn't pinpoint the exact location of whoever did this. Slow panic started to creep in the girl's chest, but she calmed herself when her haki sensed that Joshua was still alive even if he was trapped in this strange state. He was still standing on Smithies' axe in a crouch, ready to jump with his scalpel in hand. She tried to think of a most logical possibility for this sudden change, even though the New World hardly had anything to do with logic.

 _*It has to be someone…someone manipulating their bodies? Perhaps a devil fruit user?*_ She thought while frantically searching for the culprit, while the strange melody continued to play around them.

"There's a strange scent coming from that direction!" Bepo noted in panic, pointing his clawed finger north.

The music still played quietly, someone plucking on the strings of their lute, when the voice answered. The tone was gentle and unthreatening, almost as melodic as the playing music, even though the man wasn't singing. "Ah, my apology. But you see, you were frightening these good people here, so I needed to do something. Besides, it would be a waste to fight on such a lovely day as this…it _is_ the Winter Festival after all."

Four pirates turned around quickly, along with others in the street, but only the Hearts glared at the man before them as he slowly walked towards the group, unafraid. He was smiling gently, still playing the strings of his instrument which was indeed a lute.

His fingers stopped moving when a long sword was brought to his neck, threateningly gleaming on the daylight. Even so, the man still held that smile on his expression that didn't seem vile in the least. Law didn't care about it, though. He kept his nodachi aimed at the man's throat, ready to cut it from side to side if necessary. "What did you do to my nakama?" There was no room for bargaining left, which Trafalgar made clear by his cold tone. He wanted a straight answer immediately or heads will roll. There was no bluff in the Dark Doctor's demeanor.

A gentle smile still flickered on the man's lips. Miyako examined him thoroughly. He was more interesting than the boorish pirate from a while ago, even though he wasn't exuding any bloodlust. He was young, surely not older than thirty. He truly didn't seem to want to fight, but then again, if he was responsible for the state of the two pirates, he must be dangerous.

"Don't worry, both of them are fine," the man answered. He had soft amber eyes and thin dark eyebrows, which made his features gentle. He was beautiful, rather than handsome. Long red hair flowed down his back, tied in a tight braid. He wore long brown robes, which were old and worn-out, but the man didn't seem to mind. The clothing underneath was in a slightly better state, as he wore brown leather trousers and high leather boots. A light green shirt was tucked into his pants, with a part of it sticking out as if he got dressed in a hurry. There was a large black scarf loosely folded around his neck. Fingerless black gloves that reached high into the insides of his sleeves decorated his hands, although those could hardly keep him warm. Even so, the man pulled on the strings of his wooden lute with nimble finger. He plucked the strings once. With that sound, another flash of light appeared, and a noise like thunder ripped through the sky.

"Wha!" A voice let out a yelp of surprise as two thumps were heard near the crowd. Two bodies crashed into a large heap of snow by the side of the road as if they were pushed there. One form was much bigger, making a hole in the snow where it crashed. The other body was smaller, but it still disappeared into the surface of the snow, blending with it completely except for a patch of wild red hair and a black hat. "Oof!"

"Josh!" Miyako exclaimed in a shout, running to help the poor pirate up, along with Cody and Bepo.

The young Heart pirate groaned, and stumbled around as the two helped him back on his feet. He looked around in confusion, realizing he was back to his old self. "What….what happened? I suddenly froze and then…it was like I blacked out." He frowned in puzzlement, glancing at Law. "Captain, did you do something?"

Trafalgar was still glaring at the mysterious man in front of him, his hand unwavering from where he held his nodachi under the man's throat. He shook his head, but never moved his eyes from the other man. "No, I believe it was done by him."

Another groan was heard and Smithies slowly got back up to his feet, digging himself from the snow-filled hole. His axe was right beside him, so the pirate grabbed it, staring at his surroundings like a wild animal. He was obviously confused by what happened just like Josh was, and it made him even more aggressive. Hearing Trafalgar's answer, The Executioner glared at the newcomer. He looked like a simple bard, lean in form and completely unthreatening. That fact only angered Smithies further; first he was outdone by the blasted Heart Pirates and now this lanky fellow. Glenavon 'The Executioner' Smithies growled at the thought.

"Ya bastards…," his voice was nothing but a low growl. "I'll kill ya all, ya hear!" He grabbed his axe tighter and charged at Trafalgar and the bard.

Suddenly a scream came from the crowd of locals. Some children were there and they started wailing in freight. "Don't hurt Hisui-chan!" A girl screamed and ran towards the lute player protectively.

Miyako gasped, her eyes widening as she noticed the child that suddenly put herself in harm's way. Smithies didn't seem like the type to care and he didn't even falter in his step, his axe still swinging dangerously by his side while he ran.

She rushed with all her speed to get to the little girl, trying to protect her, but before she could act, Miyako noticed Smithies suddenly losing his balance and falling with his face into the snow. He crashed down onto his stomach with a loud thud, his face buried into snow and pavement.

Everyone blinked in wonder when they noticed someone standing on the pirate's back, surely responsible for Smithies' sudden fall.

It was a boney, thin-looking person about Joshua's height. They appeared to be in their twenties or thirties, it was hard to tell. Their gender was even harder to guess, considering their androgynous features. They had short ruffled brown hair and large eyes, with one brown and one green iris. Although it was a cold winter day so even Glenavon Smithies was wearing a thick fur coat, this person was standing there on his back in light summer clothing; a pair of pants that reached just underneath their knees, with a T-shirt and sneakers. The person was as dark skinned as Law, so perhaps they were also somewhere from North Blue, used to the cold. The even more mysterious newcomer than the last one laughed childishly as they stared at Glenavon fumbling in the snow, almost suffocating before he finally lifted his face and took a deep breath.

A loud slow clap filled everyone's ears and the townsfolk moved to the side, not wanting to get in the way of the new group of suspiciously-looking men.

The one clapping leisurely was a tall, lean man, with a similar build as Trafalgar's. He wore tight black robes, with lots of metal belts and buckles on it. Unlike the redheaded bard, his clothes were neat and expensive-looking, like the man took extra care in dressing properly every morning. His hair was ghostly white and slicked back tightly, showing off his pale face and dark black eyes. A thin patch of white hair grew on his chin, connecting to a thin line that then formed a mustache over his upper lip. Just like his hair, it was well groomed. The man walked closer, clapping his hands with each step of his black leather booths. His steps left deep footprints on the ground, that were soon covered with more snow which kept falling.

Behind the man were two more people. One was large, even taller than Smithies, with bright red skin and black gills clearly visible on the sides of his neck. A fishman. Instead of hair, he had black, bony bumps aligned down his vertex and going down the back of his neck. He appeared even thicker with all the layers of winter clothes on his body, since the man wasn't used to such cold weather that could even be fatal for a fishman from the tropical climates.

The other person on the black leader's left was an old monk, clothed in black robes, and covered with a purple rakusu. His bald head was protected by a sugegasa, a bamboo hat, which stacked a thin layer of fallen snow on it. Heavy, large prayer beads hung from the man's neck, while the man kept his hands closed together, with another pair of smaller prayer beads between his wrinkly fingers. His eyes, shadowed by the hat, remained closed as if he was deep in chanting a prayer even at that moment.

"Bravo! What an excellent show!" The white haired man in his late thirties, apparently the leader of this peculiar group, was the first to speak. "Do forgive my fellow Smithies here…he can be a bit temperamental at times," he continued, staring directly at Law as if challenging him. There was a cheerful smile on the man's face, yet it never reached his cold eyes, giving his demeanor a completely different feel than the mysterious bard. Even though both kept smiling, Miyako could feel a dangerous presence in this new arrival; a tension warning the girl of this man's false courtesy.

As if Law could sense the same thing, the tip of his nodachi traveled from Hisui's neck to the other man's face. He could tell by the moment he laid eyes on this new group that they were pirates. "So I take it, this lump of useless flesh is yours?" He glanced at The Executioner still lying on the ground. As if on cue, the small person on top of his back jumped high into the air before doing a perfect backflip and landing right next to their leader.

The surgeon's words were supposed to taunt the man, breaking that fake mask of his, but surprisingly it didn't have such effect on the man in black. Instead, the pirate laughed whole-heartedly at Law's words. "Indeed you're right. Quite a troublesome one. He's our newest recruit you see, so he isn't….broken in properly yet," the man smiled wider, turning his expression into a sickening grin.

All the Heart Pirates narrowed their eyes at his words, not liking his attitude towards his own nakama.

"Capn,' these bastards be nothin' for me! Lemme have at em, I'll kill em all along with that music player there!" Smithies hardly had enough as he begun to rise to his feet once again, still glaring with murderous intent towards the band of pirates.

For just a second, the aura around the captain of the Sea Rats changed, but it was enough for the others to notice. Their bodies tensed, expecting for the man to attack, but they were hardly prepared for what followed. Instead of turning his cold rage towards the Hearts, the man appeared next to Glenavon in an instant, grabbing the back of his head and slamming it back down onto the stone road. A sickening cracking sound of the larger man's skull was heard as that one hit was enough to render the pirate unconscious, blood trickling from his nose and forehead.

Most of the Hearts, along with the locals, stared in shock at how the man just dealt with his own crewmember. Only Law narrowed his eyes coldly, examining the other captain before him and instantly connecting personality traits to the man to get a better picture of what his enemy was like. Right now it seemed he was a psychopath, ready to hurt or possibly even kill his own subordinates just to get his point across.

Dusting off his gloved hands as if he just touched something dirty, the man rose back to his feet. He sighed in exasperation. "Even though Ebbie gave him a clear sign to stop he continued on….unacceptable," he muttered. The small crewmember beside him named Ebbie, snickered at the sight of a bloodied Smithies.

Even without a thorough examination, Law could see the man had a skull fracture and was barely breathing, though still alive. He wondered briefly if his crewmembers will leave him here to die of hypothermia or if they will save him after all. It was only mere curiosity though, with no actual worry in his thoughts, as Law couldn't care less whether the man lives or dies; perhaps it would be better to be rid of him now anyway. One less enemy later. The captain was brought back from his thoughts by the man in black's sudden movement. His body tensed, only to relax when he realized the man was lowering his body in a deep bow. It was theatrical and looked mocking rather than done in actual courtesy, so the Hearts' captain didn't particularly enjoy the display.

The other Hearts didn't look impressed either, and neither did the redheaded bard.

That didn't bother the other pirate captain as he continued his introduction, "My name is Murdock. I am the captain of this small pirate crew, the Sea Rats." The man's snake eyes traveled from Heart to Heart until they stopped on Trafalgar, "And you must be the infamous rookie, Trafalgar Law, aka Surgeon of Death. You have quite the reputation…as one of the Worst Generation," he added.

Law's face stayed emotionless, not even a flinch to show his thoughts towards this man. "On the other hand, I have never heard of you, Murdock-ya," he jabbed at the man on purpose with his words.

The said man only chuckled as an answer. "Well we are a fairly new pirate crew. Still, we managed to get this deep into the New World, so we are not to be taken lightly."

When he saw Trafalgar's grip on his nodachi tightened, expecting trouble, the man quickly added, "However, we have no business with you and no desire to fight such a strong pirate crew. We wouldn't stand a chance," the man grinned wickedly with that last statement, making it sound mocking even while his tone tried to stay genuine.

Something just didn't sit right with Trafalgar at that moment, and the doctor instantly became more suspicious. He stayed silent, examining the pirates before him. His sharp eyes caught an interesting detail when he noticed that Murdock was casting quick glances at the man behind him, the young bard, every now and then.

As if reading Murdock's interest, the bard suddenly spoke up. "Well as long as you are done fighting and we can all return to our peaceful lives," he nodded.

"Ah, of course….and you are…Hisui-san, was it?" The pirate tilted his head, still smiling politely.

The man named Hisui closed his eyes, his expression still calm. "You should be aware of that, Captain Murdock. Weren't you here from the start?"

Even Murdock looked surprised by that sudden declaration. That man, a simple bard, was able to notice his presence which the captain tried hard to hide through this whole ordeal. No, this was no ordinary bard. The pirate couldn't help but give an excited smile, his lips trembling as he tried to keep his polite mask and not grin wickedly.

"You were here from the start!? Then you could've stopped your henchman sooner," Cody narrowed his eyes accusingly at the other captain.

"Now that I think about it…this man's smell was here the whole time. I just didn't pay attention to it since there are so many people here," Bepo realized.

Miyako cursed herself for not noticing. Now that he was in front of them, she could clearly sense the tense aura he was emitting with her haki. She could tell he was not a weak man and even smell the scent of blood on him. Yet none of it reached her before when she wasn't focusing on it. It disturbed her that such a dangerous presence stayed unnoticed so close to her.

"Ah, you got me!" Murdock raised both of his hands high in the air as if surrendering. "But if I stopped my man, we wouldn't be able to witness that amazing scene that Hisui-san presented us with. Isn't that right?" He smiled cheerfully at the bard.

Hisui suddenly laughed as if embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. Faintly, Miyako pondered if this man was a bit of a scatter-brain for he sure acted like one. "You saw that did you…?"

"It was hard not to…," Miyako answered in a matter-of-fact mutter.

"In that case…." The bard suddenly got very quiet, his smile disappearing, replaced by a serious expression. The people around him tensed, wondering what the man would do next. Slowly he put one palm in front of his chest in a pleading motion. "Can you all just pretend you didn't see that?"

"Like hell we can!" The Heart pirates yelled back, almost falling on their asses in the snow from the unexpected turn of events. They just couldn't decipher this man's eccentric, flaky attitude. Was he a threat or not? Was he strong or not? They couldn't tell anymore.

"The Sea Rats weren't affected by Hisui's words, nor the Hearts' outburst. They stayed coldly calm and quiet, while only Murdock chuckled in amusement.

"He is a strange human, Murdock," a deep voice coming from the red fishman boomed. As he opened his mouth, he showed a row of thin, but sharp, needle-like teeth.

"Funny human," Ebbie snickered, adding to the fishman's statement.

The old monk continued to silently chant with his eyes closed, murmuring rambling words that nobody could understand.

"What exactly did you do to us," Joshua asked the bard, ignoring the Sea Rats to quench his own curiosity instead.

"Oh you want to know? Well that is…" he beckoned for the medic to come closer as if he'll whisper the secret to him. Everyone else leaned in closer as well, curious what the man had to say. "A secret!" Hisui finished with a laugh. Everyone sighed in disappointed, their shoulders suddenly falling.

His eye twitching in anger, the medic pulled out three of his scalpels. "Captain…can I kill this guy?" He talked through gritted teeth, barely being able to control himself.

Law rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache arising.

"Don't ask me to do it again, since it's tiring and I'm trying to save my energy for…ah well, never mind." Hisui shook his head, stopping himself before he could say anything more.

"That's because Hisui-chan is magic!" The girl from before suddenly exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

The pirates blinked in thought, but then realized the townsfolk weren't surprised by Hisui in the slightest. Since he was also a local, they must've been used to the man and his strange abilities.

The bard smiled at the child, patting her blonde head tenderly.

"Alright! Nothing to see here anymore, folks! Come on, be on yer way!" A familiar voice that Law, Miyako and Bepo instantly recognized dispersed the crowd. The locals seemed to have calmed down, though fearful and interested mutters still remained as the people talked among themselves about what they just witnessed. Among them, the brawny worker that was constructing the platform now shooed the people on their way, walking towards the pirates.

"Then this will be our cue to leave as well," Captain Murdock gave another flamboyant bow to the group. He snapped his fingers and two of his crewmembers grabbed the unconscious Smithies by the shoulders, dragging his large body effortlessly with them.

 _*So they're taking him with them after all,*_ Law noted to himself as he watched the Sea Rats leave just as the big worker arrived.

The man sighed, scratching his dark beard. "Hisui Klaus, you're creating trouble again?" Even though his voice sounded reprimanding, there was also a joking tone in it, showing that the man wasn't truly mad. He even used the bard's full name like a parent would when scolding a child.

"Eeh? I wasn't, Yibor! It wasn't my fault!" The redheaded bard whined childishly, defending himself.

The other didn't listen as he grabbed the man by his nose, making all of Hisui's complaints sound comically nasal.

Miyako almost felt sorry for the guy. "It's true, it was a pirates' scuffle and Hisui-san just got involved to break it up," she explained in the man's defense. "It was nothing, really."

"Say for yourself! You weren't the one frozen and unable to move! I'm still not sure what happened," Joshua argued, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Indeed Hisui-ya…are you a devil fruit user?" Law's eyes stayed focused on him as he tried to extract any information from the mysterious man. He examined his every movement like a hawk, trying to see the slightest clues in Hisui's expressions.

"Aaah….I wonder," the bard tapped a finger on his large lute, as if in thought.

Law's eyebrow twitched. _*If he making a fool out of me? Making fun of me?!*_ He was just about to threaten the man when Bepo's sudden yelp stopped him.

"Captain, we're late! I completely forgot we were supposed to meet with Penguin and Shachi in the town's tavern!"

The first mate wasn't the only one who forgot. With all the excitement happening here on the streets, the Hearts completely forgot about their original plan.

"Well the tavern isn't that far away, only two blocks east from here. It's called Madam Shiba's Den, you won't miss it." Yibor pointed in the tavern's direction.

Law didn't seem very pleased about leaving Hisui and so many unanswered questions, but his nakama came first. Since Cody and Josh got into trouble with another pirate crew, what was to say that the mechanics didn't meet other troublesome pirates as well. Besides, Hisui was hardly going anywhere since he was a resident of the Snowflake island. With that reasoning, the captain decided to give orders for the Heart pirates to move out, leaving the gossiping locals and the mysterious musician behind.

~…~

A large black ship was docked in the South of the harbor, well away from the other ships. Large white sails were lowered, and only the black pirate flag fluttered in the wind, showing their Jolly Roger; a rat's skull with its mouth open wide and showing sharp fangs, as if ready to gnaw on its next enemy.

Deep inside the ship, in the captain's quarters and behind the desk, Captain Murdock lay sprawled in his chair, his feet resting on the desk. He had a knife in his hand, which he kept throwing into the wooden desk already filled with little knacks and cuts from his activity whenever he was thinking.

"I really did it…I finally found him," he muttered with an excited voice, though it was barely above a whisper.

"So why didn't you use your chance when you saw him on the street?" Another voice, this time a woman's, reached him. A beautiful blond was sprawled on the captain's bed, her naked body covered only by the white sheets. Her wavy thick main covered the right side of her milky face, only showing one dark blue eye.

Murdock took the knife lodged into the desk and threw it again. With a dull sound it cut into the wood right next to the previous slit. "Too many distractions…too many unnecessary people," he snarled. "Besides…it's not time yet. We have to listen to Kamui 'The Monk', he calculated the timing perfectly." His scowl soon turned into a smile as he remembered something, his glassy eyes gleaming excitedly. "But soon…very soon."

The woman smiled, getting up from the bed, not minding that she was exposing her naked body. Her blonde hair danced on the small of her back as she walked towards her captain. Stopping behind his chair, the woman leaned down and hugged his chest from behind. As she moved, the hair falling on the right side of her face shifted, showing the rest of her features. Instead of a right eye was a white eye patch, concealing an old injury. The skin around the eye was badly scarred with old burn wounds. As the woman's body came into the light of the desk lamp, it showed small cuts, bruises and both old and new scars all across her lean body. The woman didn't care about her injuries and only kept hugging her captain. "That's right…just a bit more my sweet and you will have exactly what you've been yearning for all these years," she whispered to him in a sultry voice.

The man's grin widened, his eyes becoming even more psychotic. He suddenly grabbed the woman by her wrist, gripping her silky hair roughly with his other hand to turn her head, and kissed her passionately.

~…~

"Capn'!"

"Ish the captain!"

Both mechanics yelled at the same time when Law and his group entered the tavern. They had quite a sight to witness as they saw Shachi and Penguin at the large table, currently drinking and playing poker with some men. The tavern was rowdy and lively, decorated like the rest of the town and built with cobblestone. A large fireplace was in the corner, heating the stone walls and keeping the room warm.

Josh shook his head in disapproval, "Idiots…and we were actually worried something might've happened to them."

The two pirates ran up to their group of crewmates cheerfully, both their cheeks red from booze. "Welcome back!"

"Wait…ish it 'back'? But they'fe nevfer been here before!" Penguin scratched his head in thought. Useless thought, at that.

"Idiot!" Shachi reprimanded. "It's 'Welcome _front_!"

Both mechanics looked at each other before they started laughing loudly at Shachi's _very_ bad joke.

"Ugh, you two smell of alcohol," Bepo scrunched his snout in disgust, putting both paws on his nose to try and stop the intake of smell on their breaths.

Law facepalmed slowly, thinking of all the ways to punish them later when they sober up. Or should he just punish them now as a part of sobering up? Before he had time to decide, someone else took the initiative.

With a vicious punch that Cody was famous for in their crew, the medic hit both mechanics on the top of their heads with his each fist. The punch was hard enough for the men to see stars, but it sobered them right up.

A little later, the Hearts were all sitting at a round table deep in the room so they could discuss their information in private. They ordered their drinks from Madam Shiba as everyone called her; a big woman with enough body strength to lift both Cody and Joshua at the same time. Her wild brown mane was tied behind in a loose bun so it wouldn't get in the way while she carried dozens of large beer mugs at the same time. The Draco beer, which was black ale, was famous on Snowflake Island and drunk by everyone there. None minded the bitter aftertaste it left behind in their mouths.

"We're sorry…" Both Penguin and Shachi winced at the same time, still nursing their sore heads.

"You didn't have to hit us that hard!" Penguin complained, giving the medic a glare.

"Oh believe me, he did. If not for anything else, then for that horrible joke," Miyako commented without sympathy for the two.

Law sipped his beer as he talked. They told the mechanics everything that happened before their arrival to the tavern, and both pirates listened carefully to the story. Shachi nodded. "We realized soon after coming to the inn. There are more pirate crews here, though most don't appear to be hostile. We just played a friendly poker game with the Jumping Jacks, one of the crews staying here."

"And totally cleared them out for everything their worth," Penguin grinned as he added proudly. That only got him a smack to the back of his head by Cody and a glare from Law, though. "Ow!"

"What about the log pose, do we know when it sets?" Miyako interrupted, glancing from Joshua to Cody since that was their job. However, it wouldn't be strange that they weren't able to find out since they bumped into Smithies.

Even so, Cody had an answer. "48 hours, that's how long it takes."

Law nodded at the information. "So we have time to restock and…answer some questions left," the captain muttered.

"You're interested in that Hisui guy?" Miyako asked even though the answer was obvious.

He kept his expression collected, not showing whether he was truly curios or not. "Among other things…that Murdock-ya was pretty suspicious too."

Bepo snarled, showing his teeth, "I agree. I don't like that guy."

"Yeah, he was pretty creepy," Miyako muttered in thought. "Seems like there's a lot going on in this town." She leaned her elbow on the table, resting her head on her palm. Glancing at the window, she could see the colorful streets outside, covered in a white carpet of fresh snow.

"Are you referring to the Winter festival? We heard about that! It lasts for two days, starting this evening," Penguin smiled.

"Guess we'll be able to enjoy the festival too!" Shachi added.

The two mechanics gazed at each other, both grinning at the same thought, "Girls, booze, and partying!"

Ignoring the two fools, the polar bear turned around to face his captain. "Does that mean I can call Jean Bart and the others to join us here? Is it safe?"

Law was silent for a while before nodding. "Yes, you can call the others. But tell Kai-ya, Munk-ya, Cal-ya, Ben-ya and Mori-ya to take the first shift of guarding the submarine."

Joshua grinned, "They'll be disappointed."

"They'll be able to enjoy the festival tomorrow instead, so it's fine," the other medic shrugged.

Meanwhile, the samurai was still staring through the window, only half-listening to the pirates' conversation. She was focusing on the scene outside, unfolding before her eyes. Beneath a tall, large decorated pine tree with colorful lights, and glistening items, a man was sitting. A redheaded man covered in baggy old robes, sitting in the snow and playing his lute. The girl couldn't hear the music since she was in the tavern, but she saw the children gathering around the man, dancing and singing to the tune he was playing. Even adults joined in, everyone laughing happily while the bard smiled gently and continued to expertly glide his thin fingers through the strings.

~…~

As the sun slowly set on the horizon, darkening the clear sky, the colorful town of Snowflake island suddenly became even livelier. Instead of townsfolk retreating to their soothingly warm homes, they filled the streets even more than in the afternoon. The stands were open and ready now, scent of freshly cooked hot food and drinks spreading through the area. Chatter and joyful laughter echoed throughout the streets, as the festival started with a band of musicians playing on the platform.

Vendors sold trinkets and toys for children. Others had masks and glistening decorations presented at their stands, mostly in red, white and green colors.

Mingled with the locals in thick winter clothing and pirates from various crews, men in snow-white boiler suits and colorful hats walked across town. The Heart Pirates strolled down the streets, or carried boxes and crates as they did some restocking for the submarine.

Munk passed by with Jean Bart as the two carried giant crates of food ingredients for their upcoming journey. After splitting up with the Strawhat crew after all that Zou business, the chef realized his kitchen was almost completely emptied, curtsey of Captain Strawhat no doubt. Not only did the boy eat everything on the Sunny-Go like a glutton, but he also consumed all the food in their submarine as well. Munk was surprised that they even made it through their journey with the Strawhats without starving after a few days of joining up with the other crew. On another note, he quickly understood why Sanji, their cook, kept a large lock on his refrigerator.

Some Hearts were outside, shopping at the wooden stalls, buying local alcohol and food, or trying to unsuccessfully pick up girls. Others were hanging out in the inn or the tavern, still eating dinner or getting acquainted with other pirates and locals through drinks.

The samurai girl couldn't help but hum to the lively tune playing at the town's square, as the band continued their performance under the clock tower. She walked down the street with a smile on her face, examining the entire joyful atmosphere around her. She even forgot about the cold for a while, the snow finally stopping after it covered the ground with a good 30 more centimeters of another fresh layer. Every now and then someone from the crew would pass her by, cheerfully greeting her before continuing on their way. She nodded back with a smile, occasionally stopping to chat with some of her crewmates.

That's why it wasn't much of a surprise when she heard a long shout quickly becoming louder as the source drew closer to her. "Miya-chaaaaan!" Instantly recognizing the voice, the girl turned in its direction to see three grinning pirates running her way.

Penguin, Shachi and Sam, all three the mechanics of their submarine, came to the girl with their cheeks red; though she wasn't sure was it from the cold air or booze.

"What's up?" The girl took a bite of a big green tea cookie she bought at one of the food stands and stared at the Hearts questioningly while chewing.

"Did you see Captain? We're looking for him all over but no luck." Shachi was the first to ask, rubbing his head through his casquette hat.

The girl hummed as she kept munching on her treat. "No idea. Did you ask Bepo?"

"That's the first thing we did. We thought if we could find Bepo, surely we'd find Law-san since they are always together…But Bepo's nowhere to be seen either." Sam shrugged his shoulders with a worried frown.

"You don't think they got in a fight with those Sea Rats again? Or maybe some other pirate crew around here?" Penguin narrowed his hidden eyes, suspiciously searching around with his gaze. There was a dark aura forming around him just at the thought of that dubious pirate crew the others had a run in previously that day.

Hearing this, the girl scowled in thought, some of her good mood slowly disappearing. "It's not impossible…though I'm sure Law and Bepo are capable of taking care of themselves, especially if they're together." She knew both Trafalgar's and the polar bear's capabilities, so she could hardly believe that anyone on this island would be strong enough to challenge them. Suddenly, the redheaded bard's face passed before her mind's eye. _*My presumptions might not be entirely correct, after all…*_ She doubted Hisui-san was a bad person, but he was a true example that things aren't always what they seem. If someone who is capable of easily stopping two strong pirates in an instant exists here, then what is to say that there aren't others who could be just as dangerous. Making up her mind, Miyako nodded. "How about we split up? I'll help you search for them," she suggested and saw the Hearts' faces instantly brighten up.

"Alright! We'll be able to cover more ground if we split up, with the four of us," Shachi clenched his fist in the air, happy with the decision.

Each of the pirates walked their way, combing through the crowds on the streets as they tried to spot a large polar bear or a white fuzzy hat somewhere among the people. Once again, Miyako found herself on her own, but this time with a clear goal in mind. She wasn't afraid or panicking though, still certain that Law probably just headed somewhere out of interest and took Bepo with him. It wasn't strange for the man to wander off alone to satisfy his curiosity about something, often not even telling anyone where he's going. The girl sighed at the thought, _*And yet he harps on me when I do it. What double standards.*_

Her thoughts were cut off when she saw a familiar spiky blue hair passing through the crowd of people. Hurrying her step, the girl managed to catch up with the Heart Pirates' medic just before he disappeared behind the corner.

Cody turned around to smile at his friend, "Miya-chan, hey! Are you enjoying the festival?" That's when she realized he was walking along with Joshua, but the other medic was so short she couldn't even see him in this crowd the people.

The girl nodded. "Quite. Oh and Joshua's with you…I haven't even seen you there," she maliciously commented, giving the redhead a taunting grin.

That's all it took for the man to lose his temper. "Why you-" His face became almost the same shade as his hair as he gave the girl a deadly glare.

The taller medic quickly stepped in with a nervous smile, "Now, now, don't start. Can't you two get along even on a nice evening such as this one?"

Joshua crossed his arms on his chest, while his expression stayed in a frown. "Suddenly my enjoyment is quickly decreasing," he grumbled, giving Miyako dirty glances.

The girl didn't seem fazed by him in the least. Rather, her desire to tease him just grew. She crossed her own arms on her chest, closing her eyes and shaking her head as her eyebrows furrowed in a disapproving expression. "Honestly, you're so disagreeable. With such a bad temper, you'll never find a girlfriend. Why are you always in such a bad mood…"

"And whose fault is that!?" The pirate blew up, tossing his arms in the air.

Miyako blinked in feigned confusion, continuing to mess with him. "Why is it my fault that you don't have a girlfriend?"

"That's not what I meant! You're the one who's always making me angry in the first place!" By the time he stopped yelling, Joshua was completely red in the face and panting from exhaustion. He felt weak just from having this conversation with the samurai girl.

Cody sighed, watching the exchange. With a sweat drop he turned towards his medic crewmate, "You do realize she's just messing with you…?"

"Aah, now you spoiled the fun~" Miyako stuck her tongue out at Cody while grinning devilishly, but he just playfully stuck his back at her with a smile.

"One of these days he's seriously going to blow his top off from all your teasing, so be careful," The bluehead warned with a snicker.

The samurai raised her eyebrow with a smirk, "You mean this isn't it yet?" She shrugged at the thought, "Guess I'll just have to work harder then."

"Will both of you stop messing with me! And don't talk like I'm not right next to you!" Joshua clenched his fists, now glaring at both of them.

"Ah, that's right!" Remembering her previous task, the girl suddenly changed the atmosphere along with the conversation. "I was looking for Law, actually. Have you two seen him around?"

"Captain?" Joshua raised his eyebrow questioningly, but then realized he was getting pulled into her pace again, "Wait, don't change the subject!"

"I'm serious. Shachi and the others were also looking for him, but nobody can find him around town," the girl frowned.

"Well…since it's Captain, I'm sure he's fine," Cody noted, but still looked deep in thought as he wondered where Law could have gone to.

"Yeah, he won't get into trouble that easily…Not like _some_ of our crewmembers," Joshua responded, giving Miyako a knowing stare.

The girl put on a pout and narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" Even so, she already knew that he meant her. Over the years with the Heart Pirates, Miyako got into all kinds of perilous situations on their journey and got a reputation among the crew for being a trouble magnet. "Besides, _you_ were the one who got into a fight today," she added with glee, happy she wasn't the one to cause a commotion this time.

"Maybe that guy did something to him…you know, that flaky bard?" Joshua ignored Miyako's complaint as he continued the conversation.

"Hisui-san? No, he didn't seem like that kind of nasty fellow to me," the girl shook her head.

"Speak for yourself! You weren't the one who got frozen by his weird powers," the medic shuddered at the memory of that strange feeling of helplessness at that time.

"The most plausible explanation would be that Hisui-san is some kind of devil fruit user. I wonder which fruit does he have," Cody pondered. In thought he rummaged through the pockets of his boiler suit until he finally found his pack of cigarettes, taking one and lighting it between his lips.

"Who knows…but I don't trust him. The guy was so elusive with his answers. In the end, we don't know anything about him," the redheaded medic commented, his expression still stern.

"Well…being mysterious and being vile isn't the same thing. If we should worry about someone having bad intentions, I'd rather bet on that Captain Murdock," Miyako muttered.

"That guy was pretty creepy even for Heart Pirates' standards…and our Captain is known as the epithet for creepiness among the world," Cody sweatdropped.

"Well, in any case, I'm sure Law will be fine. I'll look some more just in case though. If you see him around, tell him Shachi, Penguin and Sam are looking for him too," Miyako finally concluded the conversation.

The redhead sighed. "What is this, are you forming a search party or something?"

The other medic puffed some cigarette smoke out of his mouth before waving the girl goodbye, "Don't forget to have some fun too while you're looking!"

Miyako gave them a curt nod before heading off into the crowd.

As Cody watched the girl's disappearing back, a thought occurred to him, _*_ _She seems calm, but she's still looking for him just in case? Is she worried about Captain after all?*_ A snicker passed his lips as he held onto his cigarette.

Joshua gave him a curious glance, "What are you laughing about?"

"No…It's nothing."

~…..~

"No way….how can he still keep going!?"

There was a group of pirates huddled in front of the tavern, at the outer terrace filled with tables. Uniforms of white and black lined up around a certain table, while two individuals sat across from each other.

"Come on, Sai, don't give up now!"

Hearing a familiar name, Miyako stopped as she passed by the tavern. Blinking a few times in interest, the girl drew closer to see what was happening. She recognized a few familiar faces of her nakama, mixed with some unknown ones. There were a few pirates in black, wide pants held with suspenders and black jackets standing there and cheering just as loudly as her crewmates. They all had the same red Jolly Roger on the backs of their jackets; a profile of a skull with a bandana and two crossed knives beneath it.

The girl had to push through the mass of men before she found herself in front of a table filled with both emptied and full mugs of ale. In front of each heap was sitting a pirate, one in a white boiler suit and the other in a black overall.

The Heart Pirate sitting at the table had a brown beanie hat, his shoulder-length, white-purplish hair hanging loosely out of it. There was a noticeable tribal tattoo on the side of his neck. "Sai!?" Miyako couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as she saw her nakama sitting there, surrounded by his comrades, as what seemed to be a drinking competition. She turned to one of the other Hearts there, their master gunner. "What's going on here?"

"Ain't it obvious? Sai's wipping tha floor with sthis Blade Pirates!" Eli answered with a grin before cheering Sai on again.

The said young navigator of the Heart Pirates grabbed another mug of ale and chugged it down before slamming it back on the table.

"Don't ya dare lose to this fellow, Mel!" The pirates of the other crew yelled, cheering on their own companion even louder.

The pirate at the table grabbed his own mug and started drinking its contents without stopping for even a breath.

Miyako chuckled. "I see you've made friends…But how did you ever manage to convince Sai to do this?" Even though Sai would occasionally drink with the rest of the Hearts, he was hardly interested in drinking games or competitions. He was the type to quietly watch the scene along with the others, rather than participate in it.

Eli sweatdropped and shifted his eyes to the side with a guilty expression. "Well we were talkin' to these guys and somehow it ended up a bet 'bout who would win in a drinkin' competition…and we knew we had our ace with us, so we had to use tha opportunity, yanno!" Eli pointed at Sai, currently gulping down another mug of alcohol. The young navigator had a lean constitution and would pace himself when drinking, so nobody would expect that he actually had a high tolerance for alcohol. "We just had to make 'im compete. So…" He then turned to another Heart pirate, the tailor of the crew, and slapped Zeek across the back. "Zeek promised tha tailor a nice princess-like dress fer Sai's sister!" Eli laughed, "Ya should've seen how Sai suddenly stopped before he walked away an' turned around, changing his mind completely when we mentioned his sister. He really has a sister complex!"

The samurai girl sighed, shaking her head. "So you're not only using Sai for your convenience, but also Zeek. Honestly…"

"Aw, come on, they don't mind," Ari, the explosives expert of the Hearts, grinned as he also joined the conversation. "Right Zeek?"

"Um…R-right…" The smaller, usually shy tailor answered with a slight nod. "I like sewing anyway…though tailoring dresses is a bit embarrassing…"

"It's fer agood of tha crew! Fer our pride." Eli gave the tailor his most convincing stare.

"Right, Zeek, fer tha pride of our Heart Pirates," Ari repeated, even using Eli's thick accent jokingly.

The tailor's eyes shone with determination as he clenched his fist, convinced once again. "Right!"

Miyako smacked both Eli and Ari on the back of their heads. "Like hell! Isn't it just for your own sake!? I bet you have a whole wagering pool on this!"

Ari stuttered as he talked, trying to avoid the girl's insightful eyes, "N-Not at all…" Even though he said that, there was a paper in his hands clearly showing who was betting on which side, written in scribbles.

"I knew it!" Miyako exclaimed, hitting them both again. "Don't use people for your own convenience," she reprimanded with a stern face.

"Ouch!" The two cradled their sore heads.

"But Miya-chan, it's more fun when you can also make a profit."

"An' we have faith in Sai!"

The girl sighed, narrowing her eyes in disbelief as she stared at the two. "You sound just like Penguin and Shachi…I knew playing poker with them is a bad influence." She shook her head, but got distracted when a loud thud brought everyone's attention back to the table.

"We have a winner!" One of the pirates shouted out.

Gazing back at the table, Miyako could see the pirate in black was dead-drunk and lying with his forehead down on the hard table. The navigator of the Hearts seemed woozy but stayed seated and even managed to stand up as the winner of the competition.

The Hearts cheered in unison while the Red Blades shouted in anger and disappointment, trying to bring their beaten nakama back to awakening.

"Ya did it!" Eli grabbed Sai's shoulder to help him stand while Ari took the other side.

The navigator, however, ignored them and instead grabbed Eli's collar to bring him closer to his eyes. "Thats sbetter be one fancy dresss…," Sai slurred with drunken words, though his eyes were sharp and threatening as he stared at the master gunner. After what he and his liver just went through, Eli and Zeek better keep their promise; that's what his eyes were saying. He couldn't keep that look for long, however, as he could feel something coming out from deep within him. The usually pale navigator suddenly paled even more.

"Gyaaaah! Not on the boiler suit!" Ari screamed in disgust.

"Sai! Get a hold of yerself!" Eli shouted, as the navigator passed out shortly after puking his guts out.

A trickle of sweat ran down Miyako's brow. _*Well…serves you right,*_ she thought before leaving on her way, not even bothering to ask this drunken bunch where Law could be.

As Miyako walked on, a waft of sweet scent of cinnamon tickled her nose. It mixed in with the rest of the smell of food and drinks, but was particularly strong as a light breeze blew over to her. She sniffed the air to catch more of the pleasant smell, turning her head in the direction it was coming from. It took her feet off the main street and on a narrow path near a small park. There, the glistening snow caught onto the branches of the pine trees gave the whole park a sparkling appearance of some little garden of wonderland. Right at the entrance was a bench, just under a large tree with its branches sagging with thick layers of snow on them.

Yet, the most captivating sight there wasn't the beautiful picture of nature before her eyes, but the strange scene beneath that tree. The scent of cinnamon was coming from a steaming cup of cinnamon tea, which the redheaded bard was holding with both hands as if trying to warm up in this cold winter night. He had his eyes closed, as he gently smiled while humming a light tune. His lute was laid on the bench by his side, while he sipped his tea every now and then.

"Hisui-san," Miyako called out and walked over to the man before she even though it through. She realized that, somehow, the man's aura just attracted people easily to him; he was that kind of engaging person.

He opened his amber eyes slowly, without any surprise that there was a person in front of him. Almost as if he was expecting her. "Ah, I remember you from this afternoon! One of the…Heart pirates, isn't it? Yibor told me about you." He stopped and stared at her with anticipation, silently asking for her name.

The samurai nodded before bowing politely in introduction, "My name is Suzune Miyako."

He nodded in acknowledgment before gesturing to the empty seat on the other side. "Please, won't you join me?"

The girl stiffened, suddenly a bit uncertain which was visible from her skeptical expression. After all, she knew nothing about this man.

Hisui sweat dropped with a sheepish smile. "I'm no one dangerous, really!"

"Usually the ones who say they're not dangerous end up being dangerous," she sighed as she watched him with a raised eyebrow.

His expression froze as if he only now heard of such a saying. "Eh?!"

The girl couldn't help but chuckle at his comical expressions. She was only teasing him, but she didn't expect that he would really take her words so seriously.

"I'm just kidding," she reassured him, sitting by his side on the bench. "You might be a bit weird, but I don't think you're a bad person."

The bard sighed, scratching the back of his head. "A lot of people say that to me…I wonder why that is? Actually, I think she said something similar when we first met…," he muttered.

The samurai blinked, "She?"

He shook his head as if dismissing his own thoughts. "No, never mind. I always get nostalgic at this time of year."

As he smiled again, Miyako couldn't help but think that his eyes looked somewhat sad even with that gentle expression of his. However, that expression only lasted for a second, and in the next moment, it was already gone.

"So then why are you sitting here by yourself and not enjoying the festival with Yibor-san and the others?" She slightly tilted her head quizzically.

He hummed at her question. "To be honest I was expecting someone else. I thought if I waited alone, I would bring that guy out to see what are his true intentions," he explained. However, he might as well be speaking in riddles since it made no sense to the Wanokuni girl.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned in puzzlement, "What guy?"

Only now did Hisui realize the girl wasn't following his train of thought since he just blurted out what he was thinking. "That guy….Captain Murdock, wasn't it," he reminded her of the nasty man they both met earlier that day.

Miyako bit her lip in thought, "He's after you?"

"Hm…I'm not sure what he's after…I'm pretty sure I've never met him before…then again, it's been a long time." He looked up in thought, staring at the tree branches. "But it seemed like he had some business with me…it's just my hunch, though. Maybe I'm wrong?" He tilted his head and stared at the girl, his questioning amber eyes meeting wondering golden ones.

"You're asking me?" The girl sweatdropped, giving him a clear _'How should I know?'_ look.

Hisui laughed at her expression. "I guess you're right." Changing the subject, the man inquired, "And what are you searching for?"

Miyako blinked, "How did you know I was searching?"

He gave her a knowing look with a cheerful smile, "Just another hunch." His eyes remained questioning, waiting for her answer.

A little uncertain, the samurai explained, "Actually, I was looking for La-uh, I mean, my captain, Trafalgar Law."

Hisui hummed in thought again, setting the tea aside and taking his lute in his hands. He pulled a few strings, creating a slow melody. "I see…I believe you will find what you're looking for in the town's library." As he said that, he started humming a light tune, going along with the melody the strings of his lute were creating.

"How do you know that?" The girl stared at him even more skeptically now.

He only kept smiling, without saying a word.

Miyako sighed, "Let me guess…another hunch?"

She stood up, ready to leave towards the town's library, but then cast one last glance at the bard behind her. "You're going to stay here?"

Stopping his tune, Hisui nodded. "I need to prepare."

"Prepare for what?"

The man gave her a bright smile, one that wasn't sad or nostalgic like before. "For tonight's main event….or should I say, for the main event of the Winter Festival."

"Oooh, Yibor-san mentioned something about that…So you're involved in that."

He gave her a simple nod, but stayed quiet.

The girl smiled back, "In that case, good luck. I can't wait to see it!" She was about to run off when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, glancing back at him. "Also…you missed a button." She pointed at his shirt where one of the top buttons was open, making a hole near his collar.

The bard blinked and looked down, yelping at the sight, "Wah, no wonder I was feeling cold!"

Miyako felt a drop of sweat slide down the side of her forehead as she watched the man fumble with his clothes. _*I can't figure him out at all…Is he a scatterbrain or shrewd?*_ She shook her head before strolling off towards the library. After a while, she could once again hear a gentle melody of the lute behind her, mixed with the scent of cinnamon and Hisui Klaus' singing voice.

~…~

The town only had one library, but it was unexpectedly large. It rose up in a semi-circle shape with thick stone walls that were once perhaps white, but now grey with old age, and a decorated semi-dome as the roof. The walls were filled with ivy that climbed from the bottom of the building to the semi-dome, giving it an even more of an abandoned feel.

Miyako suddenly felt unsure whether Law was really in such a place. Even still, she walked up to the large and heavy two-winged gates made of hard wood, opening one with a grunt and a quiet squeak of its hinges. The inside was cold since the stone walls barely retained any heat and the fire of the wall torches didn't help much to make it more comfortable.

She expected the inside to be as bleak as the outside appearance, but surprisingly she was completely awed by the difference. Even in the dimly lit room as most of the torches weren't burning at the moment, since it was almost closing time, Miyako could see how well organized and preserved everything was. The walls were decorated in numerous insignias and painted with various pictures. Some were landscapes and the girl guessed those were all parts of the Snowflake island, while others were painted scenes of everyday lives of the people on the island. One even appeared to be portraying the winter festival, but it was the one next to it that got the girl's attention. It showed the clock tower on the town's square, with a strange purplish light glowing over it. It looked like a dark hole, filled with stars that shone its light on the city. Miyako stepped closer to examine the illustration, but she just couldn't figure out what that picture meant.

A sound of crumpling paper got her attention and her eyes darter to the other side of the library. The building was large, with two floors and a labyrinth of old bookcases so it was hard to see anyone else, but Miyako could feel she wasn't the only living thing among these old books. She quietly approached the sound, seeing a sight before her on the large table that was covered with papers and books. There was a candlelight shining down onto the table to give the person some light as they hunched over the books.

Law leafed through the pages of some large book with hard red covers. Every time he turned the page, a little bit of dust would fly out in a tiny cloud, indicating the book wasn't used for a very long time. Next to Trafalgar, against one of the bookshelves was the polar bear, sitting on the ground and resting Kikoku in his lap while flipping through some book of his own.

Bepo was the first to notice her as he caught a whiff of her scent. His ears twitched and he looked up in question, but the girl put her index finger on her lips to signal for him to be quiet. She wanted to see if Law was so deep in his own thoughts that she could really startle him, so she laid her presence low, suffocating it as much as possible. She sneaked over to the table, just behind the man's back and was just about to grab him when his deep voice startled her instead.

"Did you really think you could sneak up on me," he asked without even turning around.

He finally turned to face her, looking with a deadpan expression at the girl. "You're 100 years too early to try and startle me, Miss Miyako."

The girl let out her held breath, sagging her shoulders in disappointment. "You're no fun," she mumbled, but then strode over to him in a few quick moves. "So why are you here burying yourself in books instead of enjoying the festival? You're not afraid those idiots will cause all kinds of trouble if you don't keep an eye on them?"

"Hmf, I'm not their babysitter," the captain commented, still staring at the book in front of him.

Bepo got up and joined their conversation, "Uh…captain, are you sure that's fine? Maybe I should really go back and keep an eye on those guys." He shifted from side to side nervously, rubbing his paws together as he set aside the nodachi.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure you'll need to treat Sai for alcohol poisoning," the girl continued as she thought of the previous events. "Then there's always treatment for STDs that some of them will need…," she continued with a sigh.

Law's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You're just trying to get me to join the town's festivities, aren't you?"

"…..Is it working?" The girl raised an eyebrow.

Finally giving her his full attention, Trafalgar turned in his chair towards her and laid back with a smirk, "You tell me?" By his expression that clearly asked 'What do you think?' she could get a clear answer to that question.

The samurai sighed, sitting on the edge of the table, careful not to sit on any books or crumple papers, and peered at the big book he was reading. "Then what is so interesting that's keeping you cooped up in here for so lo-" She leaned over to see the book's title, only for the captain to slide it to the side and out of her vision. That reaction instantly lit up the fires of curiosity in the girl and her big eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Hmm…?" She hummed in interest, grinning at the man's sudden action.

The doctor cleared his throat as his expression became emotionless once more. He was trying hard for the girl to not be able to read him. "It is of no importance and no concern of yours. I'm simply indulging in my own curiosity," he explained in an even voice.

"Then let me indulge in mine,~" the girl chimed and was about to snatch the book, but Law's reflexes were just a millisecond quicker as he moved it away from her reach.

"You know that only makes me want to know even more," she smirked at him, giving him a challenging stare.

The man returned her stare with his own, his grey eyes glistening in the flickering candlelight, "Give it up." There was a hidden amusement in his voice now. He was actually having fun with this, though such words would never be pried out of his tightly closed lips.

The two kept staring at each other for a while, until the girl suddenly turned her attention to Bepo. Instantly, Law turned a glare to the bear as well, silently telling him to keep his mouth closed.

The polar bear took a step back from such intense gazes, sweat trickling down his white fur from sudden nervousness. "D-don't look at me, I don't know anything!"

"Don't worry Bepo-chan, I won't make you say anything~" Miyako hopped from the table and took an innocent step forward with her hands behind her back.

" _Chan_?" Law repeated with a grimace.

The bear took a step backwards as Miyako took one more towards him. He bumped into the shelf behind him and found himself trapped between the bookcase and the samurai. He glanced around nervously when the girl reached him and stood right in front of him with a sweet smile. There was no way out, no escape anymore.

"Was it…over here?" The girl put a hand under his chin and scratched, making his foot twitch a few times from the nice feeling.

"T-that's not working on me at all," he mumbled, barely restraining himself from sighing in content.

"Then…here?" She moved her fingers slightly to the side, until she was rubbing the underside of his jaw. She knew that was the right spot, but was only slowly working towards it so she would loosen him up more…and with that, also loosen his tongue.

The polar bear sagged, his eyes closed and his lips smiling from the nice feeling. It felt heavenly, making him forget even about his surroundings.

"You poor thing, you were running around with Law all day, always busy and no time for yourself. And now he even dragged you to this cold library to read old books," she cooed in faked sweetness, while her eyes stayed sharp on him like a fox's.

"Right, just to read some old town stories," Bepo added to her statement.

"Urk!" Behind them, Trafalgar glowered in annoyance as he was revealed.

Suddenly the soft scratching stopped and Miyako's eyes became even sharper as she gazed back at Law.

"Ah, sorry Captain!" Realizing what he had just said, the bear started bowing his head in panic. "I didn't mean to tell her that you were reading the town's book of lore!"

"Bepo….," the Dark Doctor had a vain that popped out on his forehead as he tried to calm down his flaring nerves. The flustered bear was just making it worse!

"So that's what you've been doing! What, don't tell me you're interested in that legend after all?" She leaned on his shoulder with a grin as she stared at the man in front of her victoriously. "Wasn't it just a pointless tale? A way for the locals to attract tourists?" She repeated his own words against him.

As Law looked like he was trying to hide his embarrassment under a thick layer of irritation, Bepo slowly scooted out of the way. "Uh…captain, maybe I should really check on the crew…just to see no one is getting into trouble and such," he tried to make himself as small as possible and disappear from under the doctor's gaze.

"Wait right there," Law's booming voice stopped the first mate in his tracks, making the bear wince. The man sighed before continuing, "We'll all go."

Both Miyako and Bepo appeared a bit surprised by the sudden decision, though the girl was gloating happily with her victory. It was exactly what she wanted. After all, she knew Law would do anything to prove her wrong and that he was in fact not interested in superstitious legends, meaning he would even abandon these books here to do so. The man really had trouble admitting his true feelings sometimes, always having secret agendas instead, but Miyako was already used to that side of him and knew how to turn it in her favor. She doubted she'd be able to do the same trick on him twice, though. This man was hard to manipulate.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Miss Miyako," the surgeon leaned in closer with his deadliest stare, before he narrowed his eyes. "Before I wipe it for you."

However, the samurai was already used to her captain's dark glares and threats. She wasn't fazed, knowing that he wasn't truly angry as he was just trying to hide his defeat under his mask of ire. "My apologies," she answered, though the smirk remained, making her apology only seem mocking.

He finally gave up, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he passed her by and started walking out of the library with Bepo. "You're the one who was so interested in that legend, weren't you?"

Miyako jogged over to join them, giving Law a questioning glance.

"Well it's your chance to see if it's truly your lucky night…It's almost midnight after all, and supposedly that's when all magic happens," he smirked at her. "Though, it's unsure on which night it happens so you'll probably be disappointed," he just had to add, spoiling her excited mood, on purpose no doubt.

She thought about his words for a while, remember the previous conversations she had both with Yibor and Hisui. She gave Law an excited grin. "In that case, I know exactly where we need to be."

~…~

"So, mind telling me where we are going?" Law let the girl drag him by the hand through the crowd of people as they made their way towards the town square. He could hear the rustle and bustle of the people around them, smell the delicious scents of food and drink, hear the music playing out in the distance as it mixed with people's chatter and laughter. It was quite a big festival, but truthfully he preferred the peace and quiet of the library, which was one of the reasons why he ended up in that desolate place with only Bepo accompanying him. The crowds of people and the noise only bothered him, giving him a headache as it all attacked his senses. It's not like he always preferred solitude over company, especially if it were by his nakama (as rowdy as they could be at times), but he found little enjoyment in large festivities like this either. It wasn't always that way. He remembered how much he enjoyed the festivals in Flevance when he was a child, as he watched the fireworks with his family and ran around looking at trinkets on stalls with his sister. However, those days are long gone and too much has happened since then. He wasn't the same as he once was; when he was still innocent and naïve.

Trafalgar closed his eyes tightly, trying to get these current thoughts out of his mind. His train of thought took him to a time he'd rather not remember, and he knew this Winter Festival was partly to blame. That's also one of the reasons why he decided to stay away. It brought back too many painful memories. Awoke too many forgotten shadows he already laid to rest a long time ago.

Besides, after spending so much time with the Strawhats and their loud shenanigans and all the rucks that happened in Zou, the pirate doctor couldn't wait for some peace and quiet finally.

His thoughts were interrupted when Miyako answered cryptically, "You'll find out soon enough."

He narrowed his eyes at her tone, seeing that she was purposely stalling for an answer just to keep him guessing. He opened his mouth to say something, but his attention was caught by the resounding sound of the bell tower's chime. It started right as both clock hands met on the large number 12, as the bell started its count down to midnight. At first, the locals became completely quiet as if expecting something to happen, while the pirates around watched in interest. While the bell chimed, a melody started. First it was quiet, but then louder and louder.

Law gazed up at the platform to see a sole person sitting on a stool on the stage, his one leg crossed and its ankle rested on the other knee, while he held his lute in his lap and plucked its strings. Hisui played a gentle melody before opening his mouth and singing along with it. The words rolled perfectly off his tongue, each one in perfect accord with the notes of the tune. The whole song seemed to merge and melt with the sound of the ringing clock tower towering above him.

"So that's what Yibor was talking about. The main performance at midnight," Miyako noted as she listened to the song that enveloped like strings around her mind and heart. It pulled on her emotions as if waking up long-forgotten memories while telling stories of a time long passed. It was a nostalgic tune, but also powerful and full of life. Miyako couldn't explain it by any other word than simply beautiful.

At the last stroke of midnight, something begun to change. It was hard to see at first, unclear in the night. Law, Bepo and Miyako squinted their eyes in an effort to see what was shifting and moving in the darkness right above the bell tower. Slowly it became brighter, a black and dark purple turning into a bright colors instead. It looked like a crack in the air itself; like someone cut that place and ripped it open. From it, a purple light appeared that started shining brighter and brighter. Miyako's eyes widened, _*It looks exactly like the picture I saw on the library's wall!*_

Only the pirates appeared surprised by the sudden occurrence as they pointed and shouted at the strange sight. The locals just smiled, continuing to listen to Hisui's song that he continued to play with his eyes closed.

"What is happening?" Josh shouted from somewhere far away, but they could still hear him.

"Is it a trap?" Law gritted his teeth, preparing to unsheathe his nodachi. But what could he even do at this point? Nobody even knew what was going to happen.

The light shone even brighter as that crack turned into a hole that started to spread across the sky and above everyone's heads. Inside the light, there was still that purple darkness with sparkling dots that seemed like stars. It continued to spread until it enveloped the entire island.

Miyako grabbed a nearby local and made the woman tear her eyes away from the sky and look at her, "What's going on here?!"

The old woman smiled brightly like this was the most natural thing in the world. "The zenith of the Winter Festival has begun," the woman answered, though it only made the samurai stare as her in more confusion.

Miyako furrowed her eyebrows, "Wha-?" She was about to ask more about it, when suddenly a blast of blinding bright light exploded throughout the sky, spreading through the whole Snowflake island. The girl yelped and shut her eyes tightly, covering them with her hands since she could see the brightness even through her closed eyelids.

What made her open her eyes was Bepo's gasp. She timidly opened one eye to make sure the bright light was gone, then opened the other when she concluded it was safe to look again. She turned to her first mate to see the bear staring wide-eyed at the sky. Gazing up, she could see the starry clear sky from before, the purple film completely gone along with the bright light. It made almost the whole thing look like it was an illusion and Miyako truly wondered about that possibility. "What is it," she asked the polar bear, seeing that he was still intently gazing at the sky.

"The stars," Bepo started. "They're….wrong."

Even though Bepo rarely did navigation for the Heart Pirates anymore, seeing there were Sai and Jean Bart for that job now, he was actually quite well versed in that field. Miyako heard from the others that in the beginning when there was only a few of them in the crew, Bepo was originally their navigator. Nevertheless, the girl had trouble understanding what he meant. "What do you mean 'wrong'?"

The bear shook his head and stared at the stars even harder, as if that would change what he was seeing. "That constellation shouldn't be there. It's different from before! I don't understand it either, but the stars' pattern is completely changed."

"That's not the only thing," Law's voice got their attention, and both Hearts turned to stare at what he was pointing. They followed his finger to the town's square, only to gape in bewilderment. Where there was a cliff before, signifying the end of the town, now the area continued. The square wasn't a semi-circle anymore but a full circle and new houses and buildings stood around it. Suddenly the whole town got bigger and everything looked perfectly symmetrical, as if someone placed a giant mirror on the town's border. The other side was a perfect fit for the town they came to know.

"How is this…possible?" Miyako whispered, staring at the unnerving sight before her eyes.

What was even more astonishing was that the locals were completely calm and cheerful even as this strange new development occurred. Even when new people from the other side started appearing from the buildings and into the streets, the townsfolk simply greeted them all as long-time friends who they haven't seen in a while.

"Well Miss Miyako, I think you got your wish. Our stay here will be more eventful than I originally believed," Trafalgar admitted, staring at the people on the other side of the town's square.

* * *

Glossary:

 _rakusu_ \- a traditionally Japanese garment worn around the neck of Zen Buddhists who have taken the precepts.

 _sugegasa_ \- Asian conical hat

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I hope it was interesting for you so far. We will be posting the next part shortly, so stay tuned. You can find the link to The Dragon Chronicles on Volleys-chan's profile, which is one of my favorite fanfiction stories about One Piece I must say. It is also a collaboration story between Volleys-chan and Hitoshirezu Ryu (the story is on their account page), but you will find out more about it when you visit their profile pages.


	2. Chapter 2

The second part is here! We have a lot of it finished already, so hopefully we'll have the whole story out in a couple of days. Last time we saw the Heart Pirates coming to Snowflake Island, while this part will be focused on the Strawhats. I'm sure you'll fall in love with Volleys-chan's OC like I did~

* * *

 **Disclaimer: We don't own One Piece or its characters- even if I did, I'd still probably be writing Fanfictions**

* * *

 **Adventure on Snowflake Island**

It was snowing outside. Rei didn't need to open her heavy-lidded eyes or lift her head groggily from her comfortable pillow to know that. Nor did she have to unbury herself from the heaps of furs and other soft blankets that made up her bed in the corner of the girl's dorm to know that there was a distinct chill which would bite at any exposed skin. She could sense it in the very qi around her, especially this early in the morning when she felt most attuned to the world's living energy.

In this state of near waking she could open her sense far wider than any other point in her day. She could sense every part of Sunny-Go from the tippy top of the main mast to the very heart of the keel under the water. She could sense where every individual was and even the life energy of the marine life swimming close by. Anything that held the force of qi could be sensed within her widened perimeter. Yet perhaps that was because this was the quietest time on the Sunny Go, when the heavy snores of the men on the other side of the ship weakly echoed within the walls of the girl's room as all but one of their crew slumbered blissfully while the sun began to peek over the horizon bearing tidings of a new day.

This morning it was Robin's shift to sit up in the lookout and keep watch over their ship- their home. This left only Nami and herself in the bedroom and Rei was quite aware that Nami was not in her bed that morning, she did not need her ability to sense qi to tell her that.

The young raven haired woman fidgeted a bit under her heap of covers as she discovered her uninvited guest in the bed leeching onto her- as all those who snuck their way into her bed did in order share her body heat. It didn't bother her too much, since she was more than use to always finding someone using her as a heat source since she was but fourteen, but she still lamented her strange role regardless because it was too absurd not to.

Limbs were tangled together as her bed guest was using her back as a pillow. Rei refrained from groaning and wondering what the others would think of such a scene. She released a half snort of amusement at the realization that if any of her nakama walked in on this- they would probably join in on this makeshift dog pile and cozy up to their favorite heat source. So, before Luffy burst in here or Zoro or Usopp or Franky even, ancestors forbid, _Sanji or Brook_ for some reason or no reason at all, Rei needed to pry Nami off of her and get up for her morning routine.

"Nami." She whined a bit, awkwardly reaching one of her arms under her blankets to try to push the female navigator off of her back. "I need to get up." And yet she never bothered to open her eyes despite her claims of trying to get up. Her bed was comfortable…

"Five more minutes." Nami mumbled as she adjusted herself so that she fit between the gap Rei's arm and torso, using her shoulder as a pillow.

"I don't believe you." Rei told her flatly. " _Last_ time you said five more minutes, five minutes later you whined for another five minutes until it was nearly breakfast time and I had not been able to properly warm up for my session with Zoro."

"You still won." Came Nami's mumbled reply as she dug herself further against Rei's side, arms around the warrior woman's lean yet robust waist to keep her in place.

"Barely. He beat me the next three rounds afterwards." Rei crinkled her nose at that as she peeked an brilliant crimson eye down at her nakama. "That is not a good score, Nami."

"Five more minutes?" Ah, now they were going to _bargain_. Rei should have known it'd come to this.

"No." She told her without hesitation or stutter. She had no empathy _or_ sympathy for Nami's plight. The ginger haired woman didn't get up until Sanji lured her out of bed with the promising smells of breakfast wafting from the kitchen while Rei had been up since way before sunrise as her body was accustomed to do.

"Ten more minutes?" Did she have these problems with the others when they snuck in here just to cuddle up to her on cold nights?

" _No_." She couldn't recall having any issues other than aiming a good hardy punch on the more stubborn ones or the promise of something else- like meat. And _some_ of them actually respected her space- she just couldn't remember which one at the moment.

Robin maybe? No, she had purposely groped her last time as a part of a horrible joke she and Franky were playing. Zoro? Hell no, hardest one to pry off of her once he got comfortable. He would have smashed Luffy's face in if the boy hadn't been made of rubber the last time their captain had deigned to assist the swordswoman in escaping the swordsman's grasp. Sanji passed out usually from a nosebleed when his thoughts turned away from being gentlemanly and innocent… so _maybe_ it was him. Brook? Yeah, that was it, but that was more because she threatened to gnaw on his bones and eat the marrow inside if he EVER did breach her personal zone for anything less than innocent.

Oh. She had temporarily forgotten in the haze of her morning grogginess that personal space didn't _exist_ on this ship. It was just like being back at home with her brothers and sisters, but with less name calling and insults thrown into the mix (excluding _two_ certain individuals within the monster trio who did not seem to know each other's given name at all).

"Fifteen more minutes?" But she couldn't punch or shove Nami. Unlike their male nakama, her fellow womenfolk weren't as resilient ( _maybe_ Robin was, but that just spelled ' _bad idea_ ' to her).

Rei stopped her internal musings as the current conversation finally hit her.

" _Nami_ , you are going _up_. When bartering, you're suppose to go _down_." Rei had to laugh a bit, despite her slight annoyance. It was just like Nami to do something like that and usually get away with it. Anyone other than Robin and her would likely fall for the ploy- at least for a few minutes extra until they really thought about it. "No more minutes. It's time for _me_ to get up."

Rei cursed the fact that she slept on her belly rather than her side or back most nights, it was always harder to get others off of her at this angle. Her brothers had been pains in the necks to pry off and they were _much_ heavier than the Strawhat navigator. She managed after a moment or two of squirming to tuck her arms beneath her, pushing underneath herself to propel herself up.

"But it's cold~!" Nami protested as she tried to keep her source of warmth from escaping her.

"You can stay in my bed then." Her bed was excellent for remaining warm and trapping all the heat inside its many layers. It was why she had gone back to sleeping in her furs and blankets after she started traveling again. "But I am getting up."

With that, Rei pushed herself to a standing position. Nami was still latched onto her waist, but quickly released her with a slight yelp and buried herself once more under the covers when the cold air bit at her warm flesh. Rei laughed at the navigator's expense a little as she began to stretch her limbs, waiting to fully adjust to the room's temperature before continuing forward and changing into her workout clothes. The young woman could practically feel it when her eyes changed from their fiery crimson color to a cool teal as her body automatically acclimated to the much colder atmosphere, shifting her natural element from Kasai to Aisu.

"So unfair that you are _never_ cold or hot." Nami grumbled as she exaggeratedly shivered under her borrowed covers.

Rei chose to ignore her grumblings with a humored smile gracing her lips. She knew that Nami was always grouchy if she was ever woken before she had to be. Usually, the female kenshi would get up quietly without arousing her roommates, but that was only when they weren't using her as their personal bed warmer on cooler nights. Then she had no remorse for them if her getting up aroused them. It was on them since they knew she would, without fail, rise as the sun peaked over the horizon.

After slipping into a pair of biker shorts and binding her chest, she quickly folded up her the worn oversized shirt that she used as a nightgown and put it away. She use to only have the one shirt that had come from Gin, but after so long of living with a family mostly amassing big, tall men, she had been sure to steal one from each of them as well (no sweatpants because they were all so freakishly _taller_ than her!) so there was a little more variety in her bedroom wardrobe. Currently, she was slowly stealing some of her male nakama's shirts (and sweatpants!) when they weren't looking to add to her collection of repurposed pjs. This one, though, had been her father's and while it was old, it become soft and comfortable with age. His smell still partially imprinted into its threads, which comforted her when she missed the man she had come to know as her papa.

She didn't waste time heading outside once she was sure her bindings were secure and didn't bother with shoes. She was immune to the effects of either spectrum of heat and took full advantage of the fact that she was never uncomfortable in any weather. She heard Nami groan as a cold wind swept into the room the moment Rei opened the door and the young woman only sent an apologetic look Nami's direction once she got out the door, closing it quickly behind her. The ginger haired woman _really_ disliked the cold, especially this time in the morning.

The currently teal-eyed woman didn't muse on the navigator long as she looked around Sunny-Go with a small smile at the winter wonderland that had become their deck. Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper were going to have a ball when they woke up to see this! Especially since there was plenty of snow to build forts and start a snowball war while waiting for a snow day treat from Sanji to be prepared! Rei was excited at the thought, but quickly had to remind herself that such conditions weren't suitable to train in, especially if she didn't wish to ruin it with her drills.

"Off to the crow's nest then," Rei decided aloud.

However, instead of heading straight up, she made a quick detour to the kitchen to grab two thermoses, making some coffee for Robin and some breakfast tea for herself. Nothing spectacular, but it was something she could prepare without feeling like she was stepping on Sanji's toes- proverbially. The kitchen was _his_ , and, since she had grown up listening to the endless arguments between Kyo and Leon over the use of the kitchen, she knew that one shouldn't invade a chef's kitchen. It was like trying to steal from a dragon's hoard. One simply doesn't do it without facing great consequences (plus, it was rude).

With her tea and Robin's thermos in tow, she made her way up to the crow's nest to find Robin sitting on the benched nestled in one of their thicker, fluffier blankets- the one with the sheep wool- and reading one of the books that Kaito had brought for her from their father's collection. The younger woman was honestly glad that Robin found enjoyment from them, since before they had just been collecting dust because her genius brother only bothered ever reading books _once_ most of the time.

" _The Tale of Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird, and the Grey Wolf_? Right?" Rei guessed at the title Robin was currently reading, recognizing the illustration on the front cover of the little book.

Robin didn't even jump at the sound of her voice, despite how invested she had seemed with reading the old edition of the fairytale. The kenshi swore that Robin had eyes and ears ( _literally_ ) everywhere to stay three steps ahead of most of their nakama's crazy antics. The archaeologist merely looked up from her reading and gave her one of those relaxed smiles as she studied Rei's form with those icy blue eyes of hers. "Have you read it before?"

"A few translations of it," Rei shrugged as she finished climbing inside. The air was a bit nippy, if she was affected by the cold, but not as chilly as outside. Without even waiting for a confirmation or request to do so, Rei quickly began to use her qi to heat up the room to a much more bearable temperature for the other woman. Her eyes turning back into brilliant hues of crimson as she did so. "But Kaito's read the original script and I think we have a few first editions of it still in our custody."

"I see." Robin hummed, pushing her blanket down a bit now that the room was significantly warmer before gesturing at the two thermoses in Rei's hands. "One of those possibly for me?"

"Un. Coffee." Rei beamed as she held out the one meant for the other woman. "Black, just the way you prefer this early in the morning."

"I didn't think anyone noticed." Robin chuckled as she reached out her arm and took the kind gesture of friendship from the other raven head. She took a sip, eyeing Rei with a playfulness. "Then again, you are entirely too observant."

"Says the pot to the kettle." Rei rolled her eyes as she too took a sip of her tea. Both of them laughed lightly at the swordswoman's accusation, knowing it was true, as they turned their attention to their drinks at hand. There was a moment of quiet as the two of them enjoyed their beverage, but soon Rei continued to speak. "Since there is so much snow, I was going to do my morning routine up here before Zoro pulls himself out of his bed and starts his day. Do you mind me being up here?"

"Of course not." Robin told her, returning to reading the old translation. "I am only up here for about an hour or so before Usopp-kun is relieving me of my post. He'll be here up here until breakfast."

"Sweet," Rei laughed with an excited grin as she set down her thermos near Robin's before she began to do a few warm up stretches. "I'll have a sparring partner for a bit then."

Surprisingly, since their two years a part, Usopp had become much _much_ stronger, someone that Rei could actually respect as a warrior, and, ever since his wanted poster and being dubbed as 'God' Usopp, he had been more invested in his close combat skills. She also attributed his new attitude about learning how to fight properly from the one time he had been body swapped with combat-expert Tachibana Midori and watched as she kicked Sanji's ass in _his_ body (though in Sanji's defense, he didn't know that Usopp wasn't actually Usopp and was taken off guard). With the knowledge of what his body could _do_ , he had been much more determined to _learn_ how.

"That goes a bit against the point of being a lookout, doesn't it?" Robin asked as she never stopped reading the book in front of her. "We could be murdered brutally by hired assassins if no one is keeping vigilant watch."

Rei gave her short bark of laughter while Robin peeked up at her with a coy grin. Though some of their nakama often complained about the dark things Robin would sometimes say, Rei just chalked it up to the other woman having a somewhat morbid sense of humor before mentally tallying up the number of tequila shots earned through the remark that she was to drink later with Zoro.

"Says the person reading a book while on duty! Besides, if they are assassins, talented ones like Angel, we wouldn't even see them coming. Kill us all in our sleep and make as little ruckus as possible to avoid detection." Rei pointed out.

"Oh, they would probably kill the lookout first, don't you think, so not to alert the other targets of their presence. Exciting!" Nico Robin was entirely thrilled at the fact that Rei happily played along with her. The weak trio, as well as Brook, often scolding the two of them with tears of fear in their eyes when the two women continued to work off of each other's morbid exaggerations.

"Wouldn't that be you?" Rei pointed out with a laugh as she began to move towards their ship's salmon ladder.

"It would be!" Her eyes glimmered as she sat up a bit and looked Rei's direction. "I wonder who would survive."

"Assassin versus ex-assassin. Who would win?" Rei walked up the metal bar lying against the wall and picked it up, placing it in the two aligned notches of the vertical parallel bars. Once she was sure it was secure, she pulled herself up and began to do her first set of pull ups.

Robin laughed, but the two of them let the conversation fade as both knew Robin would likely come out on top as the better assassin. Soon it was quiet as Rei worked on her training and Robin watched in quiet interest as the younger woman would do a certain amount of pull up sets before, with great skill, moving the metal bar she was using up to the next set of notches without stopping her momentum. Every once in awhile, Rei quit doing pull ups and, with the core strength of an acrobat, pulled herself into a yoga pose. She would grip tightly onto the metal bar with her hands a certain distance apart to keep her balance while she had her knees at level with her shoulders and her toes pointed out in front of her- 'Bird in Flight' if Robin remembered what Rei had called it.

Robin wondered how limber she truly was, since it took a lot of core strength to fly horizontally. She knew that it was difficult because she had yet to master the technique when she made herself a set of wings through her devil fruit. Yet Rei did with it with no hassle at all. In fact, she did a multitude of tricks while flying that took an incredible level of acrobatics to perform. The ex-assassin wondered if perhaps she should talk to Franky about installing a set of gymnastic rings in the crow's nest for Rei to utilize. If memory recalled, Rei had mentioned her family had some at the home she had grown up in for her to practice on.

She didn't even realize that an hour had passed, too invested in watching the young drake do her morning routine, until Usopp opened the hatch door and poked his head in with a sleepy expression. He blinked blearily at her as he tried to understand why the room was warmer than it usually was at this time of the morning.

"My shift is over?" Robin asked as she closed the forgotten book in her lap and prepared to get up.

"Yeah," Usopp mumbled as he slowly pulled himself in. "It's my turn. Is Rei in here? She's not outside."

"Good morning Usopp!" Rei called from the other corner of the room. She released her hold of the bar and landed nimbly on her feet as she came over to where he was now standing. "Did you see the snow?"

Usopp perked up a bit at the mention of the snow decorating the deck of the ship. "Yeah! There is a ton of it down there!"

"Perfect for a snowball war!" Rei was excited at the prospect of what that would entail.

"We're probably getting closer to that island we were heading for, since the weather is settling. It's no doubt a winter island with how much it has snowed since entering its magnetic pull." Robin pointed out, gesturing to the front of the ship and the heavy fog that covered the ocean this early in the morning.

"That would make sense." Rei nodded. "Nami would probably be able to tell us for sure- if she wasn't barricading herself in my bed under all my covers."

"Ah~, lucky." Usopp couldn't help but say. Everyone knew that Rei's bed was super comfortable and warm (much better than a hammock). Even Chopper loved it- once he got past the thought that it was nearly made up of furs from dead animals. He raised up his hands in an apologetic manner as he chuckled nervously when Rei gave him an unamused glare. "Sorry, but it's the truth."

She merely sighed heavily as her shoulders slumped a bit. It was true. It had taken years of collecting and hoarding pillows, blankets, and furs to get it as comfy as it was, but it was the best bed in the ship because of it. She only wished people would stop trying to steal it from under her.

"Well now that you are here, Usopp-kun, I will head down and try to persuade our navigator to get up and try to figure out how close we are. Perhaps even approximate the time of our arrival." Robin decided as she moved to head down the step ladder.

"Un." Rei agreed as she cast her gaze out the windows as if trying to spot the island in the early morning fog.

"Later, Robin." Usopp bid her as he too stared for a while, testing his ability to use observation haki and see if he could sense the supposedly approaching island.

Robin took her exit and the two studied the fog a while longer before Usopp decided to initiate conversation with his female nakama. "Didn't you pick this heading?"

"Un, an informant of mine told me that there were stories that around this time of year a woman dances at a sort of festival to… well no one is entirely sure. People who visit the island _can_ participate, but no one ever talks about what happens on the day of the festival. All he knew was that a woman of unique features dances a special ceremonial dance at the festival each year."

"And you're thinking it might be that lady you're trying to find? Uh, Nanami, right?"

"There wasn't enough information about the woman to know for certain, but yes, there is a slim chance that it is Nanami, so I asked Luffy if we could come this way so I can be certain." Rei suddenly looked over at Usopp with a very serious look in those ruby eyes. "So if Luffy keeps going on and on about some 'mystery island', he's talking about this one."

" _Seriously_ , that's how you convinced him." Usopp gave her a flat look of disbelief- not so much that _that_ was what she told him, but disbelief that Luffy fell for such a ruse so quickly and easily.

"Maybe~." Rei bit her lip to keep from grinning smugly. "I may or may not have told him that the island, according to my contact, is called _Snow_ flake Island, and I may or may not have told him that something _mysterious_ happens at this time of year."

"That's all it took!?" They had been fighting Luffy tooth and nail about some of the islands they wanted or didn't want to go to and _that_ was all that had to be said to sway his vote?!

"Also that there was a festival and festivals mean lots and lots of food." Rei shrugged as she turned on her heel and walked back towards the salmon ladder to reset it to how she had found it. It was a basic rule that one left the training room as they found it so that nothing was out of place or difficult for the next person to find.

"Why didn't _we_ think of that!" The long nosed warrior lamented aloud as he slapped his face at the obviousness of the whole scheme.

"Because usually you are already preparing to moor the ship _on_ the scary, exciting, and/or dangerous island when you try to sway his vote. By then he's seen the place and is raring to go and _nothing_ is going to change his mind then. You have to try to change it before it's made up, which is _long_ before he thinks something is exciting or adventurous or _mysterious_." Rei walked over to where the boxing gloves were and grabbed two pairs before turning around a bit to glance back at Usopp. "Wanna spar a bit? Zoro is probably now just dragging himself out of his hammock to start his warm-ups."

Usopp's eyes brightened as he stood up straighter. While he would have been terrified at the invitation if Zoro or Luffy or Sanji or even _Robin_ (that woman was a skilled and powerful fighter, he didn't care what other people thought) had extended the offer, Rei was patient and controlled her attacks as not to hurt him gravely. These fights were not so she could beat the ever loving shit out of him, but more to help him learn how to better fight and give her a cardio workout in the process. She would still land hard blows, but ones that he could endure as he tried to figure out how to control his own body as aptly as he had seen Midori do when she had fought Sanji. She had said his body had the potential, just lacked the discipline and muscle memory hers had.

"Sure, but can you take me through a few warm up stretches first?"

Rei laughed with a brilliant smile as she nodded, happy to hear of his willingness to fight her. "Of course! Don't want you to pull something and hurt yourself!"

After the proper warm ups, the two of them sparred for a good while until Zoro made his way up the crow's nest, even then, he merely grunted at the two as Rei dodged a high kick, giving Usopp pointers as they went along. Both responded with a quick hello before the marimo started his routine in the corner of the room while Rei and Usopp focused on each other.

It was when Zoro was on his last set of pull ups on the salmon ladder, when Rei was walking Usopp through some cool down exercises, that any conversation between the three started. Usopp had been slightly distracted by how skillfully Zoro could move the bar up and down the notches without ever breaking from his set of pull ups, just using gravity and his hone reflexes to move up and down the notches on the two vertical bars.

"Is that hard?" He finally asked when Zoro slowed and pulled the bar out from the notches and landed heavily on his feet with a loud thud.

"No, not really," Zoro shrugged as he grabbed the towel he had brought up and wiped his face clear of any sweat.

"For _him_ , anyways," Rei gave Zoro a stern look, trying to remind him that not everyone was like him. "It can be quite challenging if you don't know what you are doing. It definitely takes practice _and_ supervision."

"Oh." Usopp stared at the bar a bit, shifting his weight from one leg to the other as he fidgeted. Rei already could tell what he wanted to ask, but she waited for him to gather up the courage to ask before giving him her honest reply.

"So," he finally drawled as the sharp-shooter stared at his feet. "Do you think that I have what it takes to… um… do that?"

"No." Rei told him flat out, causing his shoulders to slump at her admission. "But that doesn't mean we can't work on it." Instantly, he shot his head up so his eyes could meet hers, hope flickering behind the surprise. "You are _almost_ there, but as I said, if you don't know how to do it, you need supervision. I don't want to have to explain to Chopper why we found you lying in a pool of your own blood up here because you tried to do it by yourself."

"Ha…ha…ha…" Usopp could feel a trickle of sweat roll down his face at her morbid scenario. Sometimes he wasn't sure who was worse- her or Robin. But at the same time, he was excited at the prospect of learning to do something Rei _and_ _Zoro_ were able to do easily. It felt almost as great as when Sanji taught him how to do a handstand.

"But for now, scram." Zoro outright told him. "Rei and I need to settle a score."

"Oh that's right. We're tied currently, huh?" Rei had nearly forgotten that the last match had been hers and that it brought the score back to an even win-lose ratio for both of them. She didn't even bother berating Zoro for his rudeness towards Usopp. Everyone knew that their fights could get extremely violent and anyone caught in the crossfire could get hurt.

"Damn right and I think that I need to fix that." He walked over to where they kept the shinai, knowing that Franky would tear them apart if they damaged the Sunny… again… They were lucky that Rei's puppy eyes still worked that last time on him or he would have filleted them both previously.

"So you're going to lose?" She caught both the shinai he had thrown to her, twirling them to test their weight and balance as she continued to speak in a syrupy sweet tone. "That's so _sweet_ , giving the superior kenshi the win _she_ so rightfully deserves."

"Like hell I'm _giving_ it to you. It's mine, Yokoyama." Zoro scoffed at her words, a sadistic grin on his lips as he decided to start out the match with only _two_ himself.

"I doubt it has your name on it, _Roronoa,_ " she dismissed his claim flippantly, but she too smiled viciously as she fell into stance. "So if you want it, you're going to have to work for it."

"Thank you for the spar~. See you two at breakfast." Usopp quickly deadpanned as he made a beeline for the step ladder that lead to the safety of _anywhere_ but there. He knew not to be insulted and he wasn't. He wanted to _live_.

As he made his way down the ladder, he raised a hand and waved as he spoke one last time before heading down. "Best of luck to you both."

"Un/Yeah." They both replied simultaneously.

All four shinai turned pitch black in the hands of their respected owners before either individual dared to make a move. Usopp only shook his head, shivering a bit as the cold wind bit at his exposed, sweaty flesh, and knew that he better get inside and layer up after taking a hot shower to clean the sweat off. He also mildly wondered if it was worth running the risk of waking Sanji up for the hopes of a hot beverage. Maybe if he told him that _Robin_ wanted something hot to drink, he'd get up without kicking him in the face.

"Kyaaaaaa! Shit, Robin your hands are _freezing~_!" He could hear Nami scream as he scurried quickly past their door.

"Fufufufufu, which ones?" He could practically _see_ Robin laughing with that mischievous grin on her lips as she probably stood over Nami and abusing her devil fruit power.

" _All of them_!" Nami screamed back before letting out another shriek.

"All of them? What about these ones?"

"Ahhhhh! Okay! Okay! I'm getting up! For _real_ this time! I swear! I _swear_!"

"I am so glad. I was worried that I would have to figure out a way to persuade you if you didn't adhere to my original request~."

Zoro was right, Usopp decided, Robin is _evil_.

~...~

Rei couldn't help but sulk a little with disappointment as the two of them descended down the ladder from the crow's nest. It was late enough in the morning now that everyone was slowly starting to stir and they no longer needed a lookout. The sun was slowly rising higher and higher into the sky and the smells of breakfast cooking filled the air. It alerted the two of them that their sparring session had to come to an end so they could clean up before breakfast.

"Two out of five isn't horrible," Zoro poorly consoled her with a gloating smirk on his face as they reached the bottom. "It isn't _good_ either, but we both knew the best kenshi would be the winner- which is me, of course."

Rei growled at him as she cuffed him in the shoulder, causing him to laugh at her poor sportsmanship. Then again, he was gloating about it, so he totally deserved it in her books.

"I _was_ winning when you were using only _two_ shinai. Just you wait until tomorrow morning, I am going to mop the deck with you then, Roronoa." The woman swordsmaster promised the other.

Both puffed out their chests a bit as they stared each other down seriously before both of them suddenly burst out in a small bout of laughter. Despite the fact that Zoro was now in the lead by one, both of them had greatly enjoyed their morning spar. The two of them didn't have to worry about holding back in fear of harming each other, knowing that the last two years of frequent visits Rei had been forced to put in to Kuraigana Island had allowed the two of them to know each other's sword styles intimately. Though, there were times that they ended up getting carried away and _slightly_ damaging Sunny-Go, but, after being thoroughly chewed out by Franky, the two were much more careful about their whereabouts.

"Well, we better hit the showers before Sanji calls for breakfast and Luffy gets up and eats everything." Rei began to move towards the girl's dorm so she could grab her outfit for the day, Zoro heading towards the boy's.

Now, when one looks at Sunny-Go, there wasn't a thing about it that one could really complain about. Franky had done an amazing job designing the vessel down to the smallest of details. Well, all except the bathroom in Rei's opinion. It wasn't that it was horrid or anything. It was grand, beautiful, and a truly wonderful facility- expect the fact that he had overlooked the one tiny detail of it being _shared_ by ten individuals (there was only _one_ sink and mirror in there for _all_ of them). Three of which were girls, three of which were guys, one male reindeer, one male cyborg, and two male perverts.

Growing in a family home with four of her brothers and two of her sisters alongside herself sharing _one_ bathroom during the summertime, Rei didn't have major problems sharing with Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Chopper, Franky, or Zoro. She knew how to elbow her way around when trying to use the sink or primp in front of the mirror. Hell, she even knew how to monopolize the bathtub or shower when she wanted alone time. However, she wasn't elated about having to share with Sanji or Brook- for _obvious_ reasons. She honestly adored them, but the whole pervy act got irritating sometimes, especially when one of them was always trying to steal her lingerie to do who knows _what_ with.

Last time she caught Brook about to take her panties from her folded clothes stack, she had threatened to bury his body under Nami's tangerine trees. It was working so far, but perhaps he was still slightly paranoid about her more beast like instincts since she had gotten along so well with the citizens of Momoko kingdom. They had enjoyed gnawing on his bones way too much and he had sworn up and down that Wanda alone had tried to bury him at least three times. Rei was sure to tell him that she would be successful in her attempt if she ever caught him again and she would allow no one to dig him up until she felt like it.

"Tch," Zoro clicked his tongue as he nodded his agreement to her statement. "Damn bastard ate my share of breakfast last time we were late. What's worse was we were only late by a minute."

"Well then we should probably hurry up then, because he wakes up right as breakfast is being called and Sanji can only buy _us_ ," Rei laughed as she turned around to smile playfully at Zoro about her proper definition of 'us' in this case. "And when I say _us_ , I mean me- a small amount of time by ordering Luffy to go brush his teeth."

"Damn Ero-cook won't do shit for anyone else." Zoro muttered, but didn't continue, knowing that complaining to Rei was useless. All the women on the ship used his 'gentlemanly' ways to their advantage, even her. It was the only compensation they got for having to constantly deal with his perverted ways.

"So, you taking a shower this morning or are you going to rinse off quickly at the sink?" Rei asked, already planning on taking a hot bath to soothe her muscles.

Zoro mused as he started to walk towards the men's dorm to grab his clothes before heading up. He sighed as he came to his conclusion, because it usually meant more time for Luffy to get his grubby hands on all the food and eat _his_ share without him there to guard it. "I need to take a shower today."

"Well I am taking a bath today." Rei informed him happily as she neared the door of the girl's dorm. She alternated between showers and baths depending on what day it was and how much time she had. "Nami's already probably taken hers and left the tub full for me. Perfect for such a cold day~!"

"You _would_ know." Zoro laughed, pointed looking at her with a playful smirk. They both knew how temperatures didn't affect her outside of her body nearly instantly acclimating to them. There _had_ been a time when she wasn't able to stay out in the cold unless she had prepared for it, but after training for two years in a desert, her abilities instantly changed according to the temperature instead of knocking her out cold.

" _Haha_ , very funny, but I haven't had to depend on a hot bath to keep me awake since partway through my training." Rei pouted a bit as she remembered when the temperature dropped suddenly as the sun had set, causing her to conk out just for her mentor to dump hot water on her so they could continue her training. There had been a time when she got more than a handful of hours of sleep each night, but not much anymore. Her workload kept her up until midnight or one every night. She was just lucky that no one complained when she ended up napping with Zoro and Chopper throughout the day.

"I know." Zoro smirked at her rather bemused. He had reached the dormitory door and nearly sighed as he heard the heavy snores of the few individuals that were still asleep. Luffy and Franky, meaning Brook was now up somewhere as was Chopper. Usopp would still have been asleep to had it not been his morning shift this week. Knowing he had to tread ever so carefully as to not accidentally wake Luffy and screw up any hope of getting a nice shower in _and_ breakfast, Zoro held his breath and quickly entered with the quietest of steps.

Rei giggled a bit as she entered the girl's dorm without a shred of worry of waking anyone. By now, Robin had forced Nami up and both of them were elsewhere. She flicked on the lights, headed to her wardrobe, and began to shuffle through her copious amounts of clothes for the right outfit. When she had been younger, she hadn't cared so much about fashion other than the durability of her clothes, but growing up, she had learned to appreciate style and found herself dressing with the local Waterian's industrial age flair. It wasn't until she met Perona that she had delved even deeper into fashion (though by then she was definitely growing more invested in her femininity), and the Gothic Lolita had definitely had quite the influence on her Victorian/Industrial Steampunk style, especially with how much frillier and shorter the skirts she chose now were. It was simply easier to maneuver in shorter hemmed knee-length skirts than the ones that went down to her ankles, especially in the middle of a battle.

She chose a cute pair of grey overall shorts that were more like high waisted shorts, stopping right below where the sternum of the ribcage ended, with six black stylish buttons spaced evenly in two rows across the area that laid against her midsection, and two grey straps crisscrossing from behind be met the front more towards the edge of her sides. The shirt was a cream pin-striped button up short sleeve shirt that she often left the top button undone and hand a sleeveless turtleneck underneath as to not encourage certain nakama to look down her shirt to look at her cleavage. She also pulled out black leggings and grey knee high knitted socks, and a nice pair of grey suede high heeled boots to give her a little extra height (she was the shortest member of the crew standing at 165 cm and she didn't count Chopper unless he was at his full height, which was _very_ much taller than her, damnit). Rei collected her things, as well as a pair of black gloves and some undergarments, and headed towards the bathroom. If they got to the island and the festival was in full swing, she'd perhaps go change into something more cute she could use to her advantage, but she had a good feeling that she would appreciate having pants on for the snowball war they were no doubt going to have. Last time she had worn a skirt, regardless of the fact that she had worn pettipants in case something happened, Sanji had still lost it when someone flipped her skirt, so she wore no skirts during any competition.

She wasn't surprised in the least to find Zoro up there and coming out of the small room where the toilet was kept, but paid no attention to the other swordsman as she brushed past him to head into the changing room between the area where their _single_ vanity was and where both their shower and tub were kept. Really, she still couldn't believe that Franky had set it up like this. It pissed her off a bit, to be honest because she knew how this all could end if anyone more than her and Zoro tried to share. Most everyone else, other than Luffy who was oblivious as she, Franky, and Zoro were uncaring about nudity, had _some_ sort of reservations about the whole thing. The young woman had at one point _lived_ on the streets where all the kids use to bathe at the same time regardless of gender as a means of protection. _And_ she had also gone to the hot springs plenty of times with her brothers and sisters, where, on a dare originally, they utilized the unisex area. She knew what naked bodies looked like and she wasn't ashamed of hers nor bashful. The only time she felt uncomfortable being naked was when people she _trusted_ looked at her body pervertedly, and that mostly just aggravated her really.

"Usopp's still in there." Zoro called out as he followed her in. As stated, he needed a shower and she was going to soak in the tub for a bit. Neither individual cared if the other was in there at the same time.

Of course. Today was bath day if Zoro needed to take a shower (usually he just wiped himself down after training and that was that). That also meant that Luffy was due for one and someone would have to fight him to take his much needed bath. Rei sighed, pausing in her undressing and grabbed a white towel, to which she wrapped around her for Usopp's sake, and knocked on the door to the bath area. "Usopp, are you still in there?"

"Yeah," came the reply with a sheepish tone. "Sorry about that, Nami came up after I was just about to head in and hogged the bathroom. I'm now just getting in."

"Understandable," Rei nodded before grabbing at the doorknob, readying for his reply to her next question. "Mind if Zoro and I jump in there too?"

There was a slight pause before she could barely hear a slight sigh before Usopp spoke up. "Nah, you guys need in here too. Just bring me a towel to wrap around my waist, okay?"

Zoro, having wrapped a towel securely around his waist, grabbed another towel for the other male as Rei opened the door for him, waiting to enter only after getting the all clear from the two of them before she headed in herself. She felt a little bad, only because Usopp could be rather private, but she wanted to be clean before going to breakfast and Sanji bathed _after_ breakfast and she refused to have to fight him for her peace. She closed the door for a few moments as she finished undressing underneath the white towel wrapped around her torso and only entered once she heard Usopp give her the ok.

She went in, wasting no time grabbing for her shampoo near the shower and quickly jumping underneath the shower head's spray while Zoro was rinsing off the first layer of sweat from their workout. He grunted a bit at her as she gave him a playful grin, but did little else seeing as she moved out from underneath now that her hair was wet enough to start lathering up her hair. She opened up her bottle of shampoo and instantly her sensitive nose could pick out the scents of the different ingredients that made her choose this brand.

She didn't like smelling like flowers or citrus or whatever most women preferred, but she wasn't the kind of girl to choose a man's shampoo for that spicy, masculine scent either- unless it was all she had to use. Instead, hers smelled like a forest. She had lived in a jungle forest for six years of her life, so it soothed her a bit to have such a lingering scent- especially since it didn't smell so artificial and made her feel more authentic to herself. Plus, she had to live with whatever she dumped one her head, with how sensitive her nose was, so not overpowering her sense of smell was a _must_ with her shampoo.

She moved to sit at the edge of the tub, already pouring a generous amount of shampoo in her palm before working it into her long raven locks of hair. As she sat down, she stuck a foot into the bath water to test the temperature, her nose crinkled at how disagreeable it was to her preference.

"How can you stand such lukewarm temperatures?" Rei inquired of Usopp, who was already soaking in the opposite end of where she had chosen to perch and test the water while she continued to washed her hair. She would fully lather up her hair and spray it off before entering the tub, as was her routine, but she liked knowing how hot the tub was prior to getting in, in case she had to properly prepare it for her preferred temperatures.

"I really had no control after Nami hogged the bathroom for nearly an hour." He confessed with a heavy sigh. "The water was already drawn and I had to wait until she finished." He was still slightly irked about it seeing as _he_ had been the one to draw the water that morning.

"Well, I prefer a much _hotter_ temperature." Rei informed him before she began to focus her fire qi down into her leg, brilliant red scales surfacing on the submerged part of her leg as she used her abilities to heat up the tepid water. "Just tell me 'when' before I turn this into a boiling pot."

Usopp sighed out more rather than actually told her, when it reached the perfect temperature for him, his shoulders relaxing as he further slumped into the steamy water's mass. "Ahhh~! So much better~!"

Rei gave him a rather toothy grin as she pulled her leg out, her crimson scales disappearing as she did so, and got up. She had fully lathered up her hair and it was time to rinse it out lest she get the bath water too sudsy and never fully wash the shampoo from her hair. Zoro grunted as she jumped in front of him under the spray of the shower and took a few steps to avoid getting her chosen scent all over him. It happened from time to time since the two of them had to share the bathroom on his 'bath' days and, while he could honestly care less if he smelled a bit like her, his ears were still ringing from when Sanji pitched a tantrum over him smelling like her- like it was a _sin_ or something. Sure, he liked pissing off the chef, but only when he _wanted_ to, and today he rather not hear about it _all_ day _again_.

"Hey, save some water for me." Zoro grunted as she took entirely too long to rinse out the shampoo from her hair. He tugged a few tresses of it before sweeping it over her shoulder and exposing her upper back tattoo that usually remained hidden under her clothes or even her long locks of black hair. He knew her to have several more and, while he didn't know the meaning to all of them, knew that each one had a special significance to her.

"You've had plenty of time to wash off, now you're just daydreaming." Rei stuck out her tongue as she cranked her as far back as she could to stare up at him without having to move.

He gave her a sly playful smirk as he quickly tried to reach for the barely serpentine tongue. " _Get_. I can take as long as I want."

Rei nipped at his fingers after withdrawing her tongue into her mouth faster than he could snatch it and he had to pull away from her sharp teeth punctured the sensitive flesh of his fingertips. The young woman was cruel enough to break skin if she managed to catch his fingers in her mouth, as a stern warning not to mess with her.

" _Oi_." It was the only verbal warning she would elicit from her much quieter nakama. Zoro wasn't a man of many words, only saying what he needed, but it was the looks he gave when giving those one syllable comebacks that let her _know_ when he meant it. Though he wasn't angry, he definitely wasn't in the mood to mess around. Luffy would be up soon and if they didn't get to breakfast in time, there would be none left for them to eat until later.

Rei kowtowed to his will, knowing when to leave her fellow swordsman in peace and knowing that the hot water was relieving him of any residual aches and pains he may have from their last campaign. She knew that's why she reveled in soaking in hot water. It loosened her muscles and any stress she felt practically melted under the relaxing temperature. Moving out from under the spray of the water, she made sure her towel was still in its proper place before heading back to the bathtub and climbing in. She let out a pleased sigh as she lowered her body further in until she was resting her head on her arms on the rim of the tub, her legs like jello in the water's embrace. If the tub was any deeper, she would worry about drowning, but Franky had taken in the fact that there were devil fruit users in the crew into consideration when designing the large tub.

The room was quiet as the three of them shared the bathroom, all too caught up in their own thoughts to bother starting conversation. She clenched and unclenched her hands a few times as she relaxed more and more, habitually rubbing her fingers over the scars located on the palms of her hands while her mind wandered to what duties she needed to get done before they reached the island.

"Do those hurt?" The question took her by surprise a bit. Rei opened her eyes as turned her head to look at the darker skinned man sitting against the opposite side of the tub and staring shyly at her hands. She was truly impressed that he had actually asked, knowing he didn't do such things very often and knew it was that much harder for him to ask since it was a very personal question.

"My scars?" Rei blinked as she looked at her marred hands, sitting up and turning more towards Usopp so she was no longer leaning on her arms in order to properly examine her hands while converting with him. Her hands were littered with old scars of all kinds from the tips of her fingers all the way to her wrists where they were white thin marks and almost completely unnoticeable. Rei had a plethora of scars, to be honest. She had shallow scars, deep scars, long scars, small scars, thin scars, and a few wide scars as well. Some were from when she had been living on an isolated jungle island with no other human beings as she learned by herself how to wield a hunting knife while most of the rest were from the abuse she had suffered from the pirates who had kidnapped her as a little girl. "No, not really, I don't usually notice them much. I've had them for most of my life, so I can't really say I pay them much attention."

"But you are almost always wearing gloves…" Usopp pointed out weakly as he fidgeted a bit at his own questions and observations.

"I wear gloves because _other_ people are uncomfortable with them. I've made my peace about my scars a long time ago." Rei shrugged calmly before letting out a light laugh, "Though I perhaps do wear gloves to keep most people from asking about them constantly. Who wants to have to repeatedly tell every single person they meet why their hands are all messed up? I hated people my father did business with discussing my hands and acting like I was some sort of poor victim, so I wore white gloves then as a part of proper etiquette. However, Usopp, I don't mind my friends knowing or asking me questions- so don't be afraid to ask me anything, okay?"

Usopp beamed at her with a genuine smile, nodding his agreement not to be hesitant to ask her anything. There had been a time when the two of them were so different that neither could find a comfortable middle ground, especially since Rei was so powerful that she made Usopp nervous just being _around_ her, but the more he got to know her and she, him, the better they were able to connect as nakama _should_. It was simply one more barricade falling away and the rift between them was nearly nonexistent.

Zoro finished his shower shortly after that, reminding Usopp that he too needed to dry off and get dressed for the day. He excused himself while Zoro merely walked out of the room without so much more than a quick glance and grunt. Rei, out of respect for Usopp's privacy, waited a few minutes before she too finished soaking and washed herself quickly with a soapy luffa before spraying off and leaving the bathroom to dress. Unlike the two men who had to spend a few moments toweling off, Rei merely heated up her body, the beads of water evaporating as she walked and by the time she was stripping off her towel to dress in her chosen outfit, both she and the towel were completely dry. Her hair left slightly damp as to properly comb and style it before drying the silky locks entirely.

Once she was dressed, making sure she put her two necklaces back in place and her hairpin as well as her gloves temporarily in her pocket until she was done getting ready, the _real_ horror of this bathroom's poorly planned design began. She, Zoro, and Usopp were all fighting to use the _single_ vanity and sink to finish prepping for the day _before_ breakfast was called.

"Move!" "No, I was here- Hey!" "Get out of my way." "Will you-" "I am trying to-" "Will you both just-"

"OKAY!" Rei purposely stomped her foot down hard upon Zoro's as she pushed the two men out of her personal space. She growled loudly at them as they both tried to swarm in again to get in front of the mirror. The two of them stopped, knowing that growling was the final warning with the ruby eyed woman. The sniper stayed back with slight apprehension, but the swordsman glowered at her because she had used those painful stiletto heels to stomp on his boot. Both Zoro and Usopp were trying to shave while she had been trying to style her hair. None of them were doing a good job at their own tasks.

"New plan." She declared. "I will shave Zoro's face while Usopp helps comb the knots out of my hair, once I am done, we switch and I will shave _Usopp's_ face while Zoro styles my hair. We brush our teeth, take turns spitting by who was here first and so on, then anything extra that needs to be done will be worked out through Ro Sham Bo. Got it?"

" _You_ can shave?" Usopp snorted amusedly a bit at that statement.

" _Un_ , just like I know _you_ can braid hair." Rei shot back, earning a blush from sniper as he looked rather mortified that Zoro was present to hear that. "It's okay, Usopp-kun, Zoro is a wonderful braider himself." She ignored the undignified 'Hey!' coming from the swordsman as she giggled. "Actually, I think he can style my hair better than _I_ can."

The two men looked at each other, both with slight apprehension of the other knowing something so private about them, but both sighed heavily, relenting to Rei's plan, understanding it was too late for anything to be taken back. If anyone else mentioned these facts, they could always deny, deny, deny and hope no one would realize it was true. Rei gave a pleased smile as she quickly grabbed at her toiletry bag and dug out the professional shaving blade she kept with her, Usopp sputtering at the fact that she _hadn't_ been making it up. This girl and her _blades_!

"How do you even know _how_ to shave a guy's face!" Usopp asked her as he watched her grab Zoro's face and start accessing where to begin. He moved to grab her brush and work out all the snarls from her long locks of still slightly damp hair.

"One of my brothers." Rei replied as she began to expertly shave the green haired man who said nothing as he allowed her to move his head whatever way she needed. "No one trusted him with anything sharp when we were kids in the morning time, so usually one of us had to shave for him lest he try to stab us for control over the bathroom sink. My father had forbidden us from having our own bathrooms after a rather… _bad_ prank. It was his punishment to us for having misbehaved so horribly. We all usually had to use the restroom around the same time, so we ended up doing things like this all the time too."

Usopp realized that she was quick with her work and it was quality too. Soon, he was switching with Zoro as she turned about and reapplied his shaving cream and began to shave his face for him while the marimo washed off his face and proceeded to tie up her hair to match her outfit. He secretly wondered what had happened during those two years to make Zoro _proficient_ at girls' hair like he seemed to be.

"Your usual look?" Rei asked as she began to shave the sides of his face with a steady hand and good pace. He wouldn't have to worry about razor burn or any nicks with her doing it.

"Ah, yes please." Usopp politely agreed as he silently watched as Zoro began to work his fingers through her hair as he styled it.

The man was quick to decide to give her a section off a good size of her hair off on the left side of her head, speedily braiding it so it curved a bit along the side of her hair before it was free enough to dangle alongside the rest of her loose tresses that were becoming wavy. Seeing as Rei didn't have straight hair when she didn't properly comb it, her hair was instead messy and wavy the further away from her scalp it got. He then quickly used some of her own long strands of hair from the base of her neck and wrapped it around and around her hair until he tucked the small piece in, catching all her loose hair along with the braid into a ponytail and flung it haphazardly over her same shoulder the braid was on.

He finished just as she finished herself and it made Usopp wonder (really, _really_ wonder) what sort of bet Zoro must have lost to have to learn how to quickly do a intricate style such as that one as rapidly as he did. He also wondered if he would give him some braiding tips, but swiftly squashed that idea, seeing as he _liked_ living.

That didn't stop Zoro from casting a sinister glare his way as he growled in a threatening manner, "You will tell _no one_."

"H-Hai…" Yeah, Usopp wasn't going to be asking anytime soon. When Rei released his face, he washed off the remaining shaving cream and was amazed that she had done it so fast and without cutting him or giving him razor burn. He lamented a bit that a girl could do it better, but he forced himself to cheer up, reminding himself that Rei was hardly a regular woman.

Rei was putting in her hairpin, tucking it into the where the braid began and giving him and Zoro a quick 'how do I look' spin before the other swordsman nodded quietly in his affirmation that she looked good as did the sniper. It was a rare day that Rei didn't look beautiful, in Usopp's opinion, and that was only if she had been awake for five days straight (it had happened once and it scared the shit out of him since he had sworn she was a zombie or a ghost!). The three of them brushed their teeth with little fuss, following Rei's rules to the 'T' to avoid problems and just before any of them could decide whether or not they still needed the mirror or sink- Sanji was calling for breakfast.

Anything and everything else was forgotten as the three of them rushed out of the bathroom and made a beeline for the kitchen table before one Monkey D. Luffy woke up and ate all their food.

Growing up, breakfast was a time of bonding. A time when all those that lived under the Yokoyama household roof would conglomerate together to eat. Rei remembered fondly how she use to sneak bites of her pancakes over to her father while their chef wasn't looking (because her father was _not_ suppose to be eating anything unhealthy at his age) and how much fun it had been surrounded by the people she loved.

However, she also remembered that it was almost exactly like breakfast on the Sunny-Go, though here there was a whole lot less colorful words being spewed discreetly at each other from _most_ of the participants. It was complete chaos and disorder as people tried to eat, enjoy, _and_ _protect_ their food from being stolen by anyone else- namely Monkey D. Luffy.

It hadn't even been minutely humorous to find herself in such a familiar disposition of having to use the cutlery as weapons to ward off her captain's grabby hands as he ate at a pace that far outdid anyone she called family. The one time Kaito visited, he swore up and down because he knew this game all too well _and_ he also knew all his little cheats he had to spare himself from losing his food were useless with this group (he had pretty much learned to like what everyone else didn't).

Luffy wasn't alone in the thievery either. Brook was usually the one being caught because he was almost as outright as Luffy was, but then there was super stealthy Robin misusing her devil fruit ability to take whatever she wanted herself. Franky would from time to time pick up pieces of food off of other people's plates claiming he was taste testing it to see if he should get it next time- which he never did. Chopper just filled his plate to the brim outright and usually was the victim of most of the theft- though she was certain those bacon strips and sausages were meant for her, since he would discreetly put them on her plate as the meal progressed.

Zoro normally kept to himself, but there were times he'd take something that belonged to Sanji to instigate a verbal fight (no real fights were allowed on the kitchen area) or to distract him from his endless flirtations with their women nakama. Sanji was sneaky enough to usually eat _in_ the kitchen to avoid thievery, but Zoro and Luffy always managed just fine when they wanted. Nami would complain loudly about how all the food was suppose to be shared equally among them, but everyone _knew_ she had taken the most of her favorite dishes to eat by herself. She even conned Sanji, if he was too close, to give her some of his and often used misdirection to take what she wanted from the others. Usopp usually sat next to Chopper and the _furthest_ from Luffy to keep the amount stolen from his plate at minimum, but he could be seen giving Chopper the 'look over there' scam and taking a few pieces of food from the reindeer.

All in all, it was loud, it was exhausting, and it was honestly thrilling! Despite how unhumorous she found the familiarity of the situation to be, Rei would find herself laughing giddily at times. Especially when she foiled someone's attempts to steal her food, all knowing that she shared food the least due to her more beastly instincts, but often only glowered and snarled when someone succeeded. They all tried at least once per meal, but only Chopper would usually slip through the cracks and only because she let him. The young strategist had one time even managed to _bite_ Luffy's hand as he tried to take her food. As the young captain tended to his wounded hand, the others had all nearly burst out in a gut wrenching laughter as Rei spritely flipped off her captain before laughing along with the others.

But after the food was gone and the dishes were being cleared away the remaining group would move to the Aquarium Bar, there was a mood of contentment and peace that filled the room. This was usually when the energy level dropped down from a frantic state and leveled out into a mellow atmosphere with the change of the area and company. Sanji would serve drinks, often refills of their chosen breakfast beverage, and the people that didn't wander off, usually Robin, Nami, Sanji, Rei, and sometimes Chopper, Usopp, or Franky, would sit and talk for a while in the cozy contentment that filled the room.

Today was no different, though, since it was snowing, Sanji was serving a variety of hot beverages or winter time favorites. Rei was sipping on a spiked eggnog that the chef had prepared himself earlier that morning while she and Zoro had finished up their morning session. She had already had a few, but her alcohol tolerance was through the roof (much like Zoro's and Nami's), so she didn't worry about being inebriated anytime in the near future.

"So, Nami, have you had a chance to assess how close to the island we are?" Rei asked as she reclined against her chair, curious to see what Nami's reply would be.

"Yeah," Nami nodded as she took her own sip of chai latte. "It was still foggy when I got out there, but it had rolled away enough to see the lighthouse signal through a telescope. We should be arriving sometime in the afternoon, but before it gets dark."

"That's good, that will give us enough daylight to do some remedial intel and some much needed shopping." Rei smiled as she began to mentally plot out what would need to be done once they got to the island. She wondered if their local bookstore would have any of the books on her reading list or if they had some cute boutiques to shop at. She had ruined a few good outfits on their last campaign and, though she wasn't desperate for clothes, it would serve as a good way to unwind for a bit. Especially if they had some sort of weapon shop for her to visit. Their supply of the particular oil she used to maintain her blades was getting low and she didn't like worrying about running out.

"Hopefully it is a quiet island," Nami sighed as she slumped onto the table. "I need a break from all the stress of wondering if I am going to _survive_ the latest Yonko that Luffy decided to wage war on. I thought it was bad just having one Yonko pissed at us, but two or three or even _four_? I just need a quiet island filled with cute boutiques and possibly a lingerie shop. Half of mine practically went _missing_ after Zou."

Rei resisted the urge to say anything about how she felt like some of her clothes had gone missing as well and instead tried to focus on lifting up Nami's spirits. "Well, I heard that there is usually a festival around this time of year. So if we are lucky, we will get there just in time to take part."

"Ugh, but it'll probably be mostly outside and it's _cold_." Nami whined a bit, but peeked up with some interest shining in those chocolate colored eyes. Nami and shopping went hand and hand naturally. Nami and _festivals_ was like Nami and shopping on steroids- usually because of unique stands that could be found only during the event. With that in mind, Rei knew that Nami was fishing for _something_.

"Wear that wool petticoat you got a while ago. That should keep you warm." Robin suggested as she too sipped gingery on the beverage of her choosing.

"Yeah, but it only really goes with that really cute sweater dress and legging combo _Rei_ owns…"

And _there_ was the catch. "You want to borrow my clothes, don't you?"

Rei sighed as Nami peeked over at her with a pleading pout. However, that would not be enough to sway the other woman. Anything Nami borrowed in the shirt department often was stretched out by her much more bountiful breasts if the material was even the slightest bit stretchable. While Rei wasn't _lacking_ in the breast department, she wasn't as abundant as either other woman on the crew, which she preferred because she was certain bigger breasts would get in her way and lower her maneuverability. However, saying yes to Nami wearing it was kissing that dress goodbye and she hadn't even _worn_ it yet.

"I will say 'yes' on three conditions." Rei raised her fingers and began to tick off each one as she named her circumstances. "One, you will keep the top, since I will never be able to wear it after you without looking silly; two, you will buy it outright from me at _full_ price of the dress." Nami squawked a bit at the second condition, but Rei pushed past it and finished before letting Nami attempt to bargain. "And three, the amount of money owed to me goes towards the usual."

"But- but it's not new!" Nami argued as she flailed to recover from the given conditions. She really must have wanted it if she was willing to debate about it.

"I've never worn it at all. It still has the tag, thus making it as new as it possibly can get out here at sea. In fact, I should _inflate_ the price since you will never see a dress like that again in other boutiques since the brand was specific to that island, but as long as you don't try to dupe me, I will give it to you without inflating it to an astronomical price." Rei countered without missing a beat.

Nami scowled, suddenly remembering that Rei had been raised by business minded individuals. She would have to tread carefully to get what she wanted and not have it backfire on her, but she wouldn't go down without getting a deal out of Rei- even if she wasn't actually going to have to fork money out, she knew of which debt the other woman was putting the money towards and it made her nervous.

"Even if there isn't going to be another one _exactly_ like that dress, it doesn't mean that it is one of a kind. There will still be plenty that will be _similar_ to it on other islands." Nami pointed out. "I should be receiving a second hand discount because it isn't coming straight from the source and I don't know what has been done to it since then."

"I hung it in my closet. I take good care of my clothes. That is a moot point, especially since you were present the whole entire time from when I purchased it to when I put it away. It has never left your sight since then. No discount. Full price."

"But _you_ got it for a discount." Nami suddenly remembered, hoping to use that against the crimson eyed woman.

"But _I_ am not having a sale." She shook her head, sipping at her eggnog with a completely calm look. "This is all about supply and demand- and that makes the price non-negotiable."

"What about a discount on the account that we are good friends?" It was a stretch, but Nami paid for _nothing_ at the full price, but she also knew her usual tactics wouldn't work on the female Yokoyama.

"How often do _you_ do that for your fellow nakama? Name at least one time and I will knock it down a small percentage." Rei rose a brow as she made what she believed to be a very good point. Most of the men were so deep in debt because of her- to her- and she never gave them mercy outside of using it against them. Only Robin and she were free of debt and that was because neither of them were fooled by her fake hospitality.

"I um…." Nami bit her lip as she thought about it before her eyes lit up. "I let Luffy have this glass bobble armband that he wanted from the treasure we collected on Thriller Bark!"

"It's true, she did." Robin vouched for her with a laugh.

" _And_ I gave away some treasure to a good ally of ours, Lola, on that same island for all her help with that creepy invisible pervert." She also chalked that up to her being generous. Robin also nodded that it had occurred as so that Rei didn't question the truth of the statement. She was honestly very entertained by this little exchange.

"Okay. That's twice then that you can recall." Rei smiled. "I will drop the price by ten percent."

"What? No, that's _two_ different occasions, so that should be twenty percent."

"I did count for both occasions. That's five percent and five percent, which makes ten percent total."

"You only discounted it by five!" Nami shouted, mouth dropping at the other woman's audacity to pull a stunt _she_ would do. Though there was a hint of pride flickering in her heart at how cunning her fellow female nakama were to not be taken advantage of.

"You add interest on by the _hundreds_ , Nami." Rei countered her disbelief with facts. "It's only fair that I detract by singles. Be appreciative that I didn't think of each event as one percent to be docked off."

Nami slumped a bit as she tried to think of any more good deeds she might have done, but really, her mind was scrambling to come up with any that Rei would acknowledge. Rei took another sip of her eggnog as she watched the younger woman struggle with her deeds, knowing that Nami really was a nice person, but her greed tended to overtake her at times and there were some events that she would never possibly even consider counting. She let her wrestle with it a few more minutes before continuing on.

"So, with the addition of several more wonderful deeds you are seriously blanking on, I say that we reach about fifty percent discount. Would that suffice?" Rei decided to inform her, finishing off her eggnog.

"Fifty?" Nami blinked. "I thought I was at ten- not that I'm complaining."

"Events at or around Whisky Peak, voyage to Drum Island, Alabasta Kingdom, and Water 7. Those are just to name a few of the events I will discount for. There are more, of course, but I will leave them out so that they can remain as what they are meant to be: unselfish kindness. So I will give you a fifty percent discount for a quality sweater dress with some of the finest, softest wool that doesn't itch or get scratchy that looks absolutely adorable with your pink petticoat. Will you accept or should I change my mind and raise the price?" Rei teased as she grinned playfully at her threat, knowing that it would snap Nami out of her wide eyed expression. The other woman blushed slightly at Rei's benevolent words about her kindness as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Good," Rei nodded. "Write me a receipt, like usual so I can keep track of my expenditures with you."

"It's like you don't trust me," Nami pouted but there was no hurt behind her words, knowing full well if it had been anyone else, she would have played with the numbers a bit, but Rei was too astute with her spending and would immediately call her out on it. "I'll have it done before we get to the island."

"Then we have a deal." Rei stretched out her gloved hand and Nami reached out with her own and with a firm shake, the deal was settled. Nami got the dress and her discount,while Rei got something out of the loss of her never worn sweater dress. Oh well, it would look better on Nami than her anyways.

Just as the three of them were about to get back into a conversation about what they would possibly like to do on the island, Luffy came storming into the room, shouting excitedly with a 100 megawatt grin on his face. He had snow on top of his hat, alerting Rei that Luffy had been rolling in the snow. The door having been left ajar in his rush and she could hear Chopper giggling giddily as he played with Usopp, Franky, and Brook as the four of them waited for Luffy to round up the other players. Zoro's faint snores could also be heard if one knew what to listen for.

"You guys! We're going to have a snowball war! Come join us!" He shouted with great vigor before pointing at Rei. "Rei, I challenge _you_ to a snowball fight!"

"Alright, I accept your challenge." Rei nodded, starting to get up with a playful smirk on her face. "Are we picking teams?"

"Shishishishi! Yeah! I'll go get Sanji! You convince Nami to play!" Luffy told her before turning to run down towards the kitchen shouting at the top of his lungs "SAN-JI~! WE'RE HAVING A SNOWBALL WAR! YOU _HAVE_ TO PLAY!"

"Looks like it's mandatory~," Rei sang at Nami who was frowning unhappily at the realization that she was expected to participate and be _outside_ in the snow. Robin chuckled as she got up and slowly began to head over to the stairs that lead to the deck.

"I wonder who will win? It'll possibly be the team with the strongest players." Robin commented. "I'm excited. Perhaps we can make wagers?"

"Oh, I would say so." Rei hummed. She had grown up playing a variety of games with her siblings and all of them played for keeps. If there was nothing at stake, it wasn't as fun. "Well, I better go figure out who will be on what team." She paused for a moment before laughing and casting a glance at Nami, who she knew would have to go grab a jacket if she were to go outside. "Might want to grab a jacket for Luffy for when he realizes it's quite cold outside."

"Only if I can be on your team." Nami bargained. She didn't want to be on Luffy's team and if she got cold she would be able to cling to Rei in an attempt to warm up. She blinked as she registered what Rei had said prior to asking her to fetch a coat for Luffy as well. "I thought we usually broke into groups as the team leaders take turns choosing."

"We do." Rei smiled cryptically as she headed up the stairs. Her odd wording sparked interest in the navigator and she wondered if their strategist was truly able of such a feat as manipulating Luffy into choosing the individuals _she_ wanted him to select. This she _had_ to see. Now that she was curious, she had no issue getting up to grab those jackets so they could play.

~...~

The lot of them were gathered upon the deck of Sunny-Go as the two designated captains looked at their nakama with smiles. Rei was much more conservative in her excitement compared to Luffy, who was sitting on the railing and squirming and chuckling with the biggest grin on his face. All of them other than Rei and Chopper were bundled up to keep the cold from nipping at their skin, though how Franky could stand there without pants in the snow, Rei would never know, especially when he insisted that he needed a jacket.

"Okay," Rei began as she shifted a bit, looking over at Luffy. "A few quick rules so that this game of war is a little more fun and no body gets excessively hurt." She couldn't admit that there would be no injuries, but they all knew the risk of play games with this group. "Rule one, no rocks, no ice, no _wet_ snowballs. Snowballs must be made of snow and nothing else." Insert pointed look at both Sanji and Zoro at the recall of the _last_ snowball fight they had had. Those two ended up chucking rocks at each other instead. Sanji at least had the courtesy to look slightly abashed by her accusing look, Zoro just snored as he continued to nap from when they had rudely woken him up to play their little war.

She continued. "Rule two, the game will begin half an hour after choosing teams to properly prepare our snow forts. Nothing huge, only big enough to hide behind and no triple decker buildings this time Franky."

"Not super~!" Franky pouted, but relented. She never said anything about _double_ decker forts.

"Nothing outrageous, Franky, it has to be ground floor." Rei knew him well enough to immediately know where his thought processes had gone.

"Boo!" Franky cried, crossing his arms, but relented to the rules. He would _just_ have to make due, he supposed, with what was allowed.

"Third rule, nothing below the belt or hard to the head and _no_ knocking the devil fruit users purposely into the ocean _again._ Same rule for people without devil fruits, the water is freezing and anyone outside of myself would die of hypothermia within five minutes. And, no, we will not test my time limit on Zoro, regardless of what he says about how refreshing it is to _swim_ in these conditions." She shot Luffy a hard look, noticing his slight pout, before glancing over once more to a sheepish Sanji, a chuckling Robin, and even Nami, who looked at her with mock innocence. Honestly, these people could be ridiculous.

"And finally, the losing team will be handed over the responsibilities of doing the standard chores and inventory shopping while at port on Snowflake Island before being allowed to freely roam the island. Winners will have a little extra spending money to do with what they want." That last rule got her quite the cheer from all of her nakama as each of them dreamed of what they would do with that extra spending cash. Rei was certain Nami was already thinking of what sort of cute outfit she'd get with it.

"Now let's begin!" Rei shouted with a big smile, putting her hand in her pocket and pulling out a beli coin. "So, to decide who goes first, Luffy and I will flip for it. Your call, Luffy."

Luffy nodded his understanding and waiting until it was high in the sky before excitedly calling out his claim of heads. Rei smiled and she caught it, smacking it to the top on her wrist and revealing the coin. "Tails!" She got to go first!

Luffy sulked for but a second but was too excited to care who got to pick first. He already had in mind who he wanted to be on his team. Rei grinned widely as she scanned the participants, making a humming noise as if she was thinking about it, tapping a finger to her chin before calling out the first member of her team.

"I choose…" She drawled out, watching as a few of them puffed out their chest in confidence. She could see Nami ready to take a step forward and even Franky looked confident that the girl he practically considered to be his little sister would call up on him. "Usopp-kun!"

" _Eh_?" Nami, Franky, Sanji, and even Usopp all echoed as at her first choice. Zoro might have, but he was napping. Robin merely smirked, an idea of where this might be going forming in her mind.

"Me?!" Usopp was in disbelief. Not that she would _pick_ him, but she picked him _first_.

"Un." Rei nodded before glancing over at Luffy, like there was nothing wrong with her choice, which there wasn't. "Your turn."

"Franky!" Luffy called out throwing his hands in the air with excitement, completely unperturbed about who she had chosen to be on her team. It was a game, and a fun one at that, so why wouldn't she pick someone as fun as Usopp. He would have!

Franky looked a little upset not to be on his imouto's team, but he took it in stride and shot off a pose, drawing the excitement of the wilder and childish members of the crew. " _Suuuuper_ ~!"

"Chopper-kun~." Rei sang sweetly, hands behind her back as she leaned onto the heels of her shoes as she did so. The little reindeer looked so excited at her choosing him and Usopp quickly snatched him up to celebrate that the little zoan was on the same team as he.

"Sanji!" The chosen made sighed a bit as he breathed out a billow of smoke from his cigarette, disappointed that he would not be on the same team as Rei, but there was still hope that he would have one of the other women on his team.

"Robin." Sanji began to sniffle at the loss of having the dark haired woman on his team, but she merely grinned as she made her way over to where Usopp and Chopper were calling her over to with welcoming grins.

All that remained now was Nami and the two swordsmen. Zoro was snoring loudly by now as Nami looked rather worried as well as slightly hurt that Rei had not chosen her right off the bat, but she kept reminding herself that Rei made her a promise that she would be picked and she could only believe in that promise.

Luffy was undeterred in his selection as he pointed at the tall skeleton and shouted out the Soul King's name. "Brook!"

"Nami~!" Rei gave her a cunning smirk, her teal eyes shining with mirth as her body language practically said 'see, I kept my promise'. Nami didn't know how, but she knew that somehow the whole thing had been completely manipulated by Rei if she had promised her a position and yet purposely chosen her last.

"Ah~" Luffy sighed out as he crossed his arms and gave a disappointed shake of his head. "That means I get Zoro…"

" _Oi._ What does _that_ mean." Apparently the swordsman had woken up just in time to hear his captain complain. It was probably Sanji's wails of sorrow as he fell to his knees, hitting the floorboards in his lament over all the women being on Rei's team and him being stuck with a bunch of men. Franky and Brook taking mild offense to his words as they both scowled at him, but even Brook was disappointed that there were no girls on their team to try to sneak the chance to see their panties.

"It means what it means. All you'll do is nap." Luffy complained as he sat there, hunched over as he sulked down at Zoro. "Ah, well, can't be helped."

"Oi!" Zoro was unsheathing one of his swords, moving to stand as he gave his captain an angry glare. "What does that mean!"

"It means what it means, _marimo_." Sanji said bitterly as he looked up from his wallowing to glare accusingly at the swordsman. "You're deadweight. _Ahhhhh_! I know that Rei-pyon was instantly of the question on this team, but why couldn't we have Nami-swan or Robin-chwan instead!"

"Say that again, you _shitty cook,_ and see what happens!" Zoro growled out as he now aimed his ire at Sanji. Rei ignored the petty fight that broke out between the two of them as her captain brought her attention to him.

"Mahhh~, Rei, can we trade?" Luffy looked over at Rei with a miserable look.

"Nope!" Rei purposely popped her 'p' as she spoke with a playful grin. "I picked who I wanted. Next time don't pick your members in order of necessity." She lightly scolded him as she started to make her retreat down to where her group was standing. She waved back at him as she fled with a taunting "Have fun with your team!" to rub the fact that he was unsatisfied in his face.

"Necessity?" Nami questioned her wording as she came to stand with the rest of her team. Robin was smiling, seemingly already aware of what her tactics were, but Nami was very interested in how Rei had known how Luffy would select his team.

"Robot, provisions, entertainment." Rei listed for the navigator, flicking out her fingers in accordance to the number as she listed them. "That is how Luffy chose his team. Well, once I removed Usopp and Chopper from the equation. After securing Franky, he would have chose one of them just because of the fact they are his usual posse in such events without realizing how beneficial they really truly are in a snowball fight. Once that was decided, he could then contemplate if entrainment was more important or having control over the chef- which, in his mind, gives him access to food- is." Rei explained with a shrug, bending down to pat Chopper on the head as she finished her explanation. "But I wanted Usopp and Chopper on my team, so I had to get to them first. Usopp, then Chopper as so he couldn't select them himself. If I had not been able to pick first, my strategy would have been altered slightly in accordance to the fact that he would have chosen whatever one I didn't take after he picked Franky."

"Eh? Seriously?" All three members of the Weak Trio looked completely astounded by her explanation.

"But… But if you can actually manipulate Luffy like that…" Nami trailed off for but a moment before getting all teary eyed. "Why do you never discourage him from joining scary alliances or stop him from going on scary islands where we can all be killed?!"

"Why would I do that?" Rei cocked her head to the side in genuine confusion. "There would be no fun or adventure going to all the calm islands. That's the best part about being on this crew!"

"It's no use trying, Nami!" Usopp lamented as he tried to console Nami who was crying crocodile tears at Rei's admission while trying to hold back his own. "Our crew is filled with crazy people! Regardless of her brilliance, even Rei isn't entirely sane in that respect!"

"Rei is scary like them, ja!" Chopper also added onto Usopp's comment looking just as upset that they were about being constantly put into scary situations because of their thrill-seeking captain and those of their nakama that encouraged his behavior. "It should be the Monster _Quartet_ now that she's here to stay!"

"Oi, oi," Rei muttered in a deadpan while giving them a flat look. "What does that mean?" She felt mildly insulted by that comment.

"I think it means that we should begin building our fort before it lay forgotten and we must forfeit on account of there being no fort for the other team to destroy." Robin cut in just at the right time, pointing over to where the other team stood. Sanji and Zoro were still arguing with Brook laughing at their bantering while Luffy was watching with stars in his eyes as Franky was constructing their mega fort that would no doubt end up with some super long, strange name if Franky could get away with it.

"Right," Rei was brought back to what they were doing, knowing full well that she did not select her team to _lose_ against someone like Luffy. She highly doubted that her other teammates wanted to be defeated and end up with the chores either, so she let their comments go and began to focus on what needed to be done in order to build their fort.

"Alright, Robin, Chopper, I need you two to start piling up the snow while Usopp starts constructing it." She turned to look at Nami, getting the redhead's undivided focus now that things were turning serious- well for a _snowball_ war anyways. "You and I will assist Usopp with how he wants this fort built. When it's done, I will add the finishing touch so that whatever Luffy's team throws at us won't destroy the fort in an instant."

"Right!" They all nodded and began to do as their designated leader had ordered them to do.

By the time it had come to actually having the war, the two forts were finished and both very impressive in their own rights. Franky had created something that looked like a mini Sunny-Go warship and despite his attempts, the fort was named Fort Sunny. On the other hand, with Usopp as their designated architect, theirs looks like the Going Merry, thus, their fort was dubbed Fort Merry. As the finishing touches were added before it was time to begin, Rei used her abilities to freeze their packed snow into place, creating a solid ice wall in the center as to withstand whatever abuse that the monster trio would throw their way.

The snowball fight itself as a ton of fun and even Nami, who usually scowled about having to be out in the snow was laughing heartily at some of the completely absurd warfare going on, every once in a while nailing one of the guys in the face and laughing harder. She had Zoro screaming at her at one point because she had managed to nail him square in the face with a snowball that practically exploded upon contact and woke him up rudely. By then, he was finally willing to play, if only to get the 'she witch' back.

Usopp, of course, was their secret weapon and was nailing everyone on the opposite side with an accuracy only few could boast of, grinning as it boosted his confidence to know that he was able to hit all his targets. Robin would alternate from being their snowball factory to being their snowball gattling-gun and throwing a barrage of snowballs at the men, usually aiming playfully for Franky who would be trying to construct a huge snowball that required him to throw from above his head and she always seemed to hit him just as he had it above his head, causing him, in his surprise, to release it and laughing at him as it hit cyborg square on the top of the head instead of make a dent on Fort Merry.

Rei alternated herself, but she was sure to direct Nami and Robin to their more exposed areas while Chopper used his multiple transformations as ways to throw their bigger snowballs at Fort Sunny's walls, though Rei told them to focus more on having fun than actually destroying the fort. She already had a plan for how to accomplish that.

As for the other side, Franky was doing most of the work, with Brook and Luffy as his back-up, but for the most part, Sanji was aiming and missing his targets- Chopper and Usopp- because of their more protected locations. He wouldn't even try aiming at the woman, in fear that he would harm them when he threw the snowball, so he focused for on the fort than anyone in the end. Zoro had been napping until Nami had pelted him, but after his ire vanished and he grew bored once more, he was back to napping.

It was a good long while before the game was over, both forts having taken damage, but Merry was holding out better due to Rei's technique. It was then that crimson eyed woman decided to finish the game and quietly instructed her team on their finishing game plan. The three involved in the plan looked at her with slight surprise, but soon Nami and Usopp were grinning deviously while Robin chuckled lowly at her wonderful idea, nodding their agreements to her game plan. Nami quickly stole away the attention of the awake members of the other team while Usopp quickly used that moment to pelt his target with a rather hard toss of compact snow. The attack hit just as Nami had finished distracting the others, having somehow managed to get Sanji just close enough to where they wanted him to be.

Zoro jerked away when he was hit hard square in the chest, and looked around with a scowl.

"Sanji-kun, you're suppose to be hitting us, not your own team." Robin reprimanded him calmly with a slight shake of her head, before smiling. "Not that we don't mind you assisting us."

"Ehhhh? Are you really that lovesick, Shitty Chef?" Zoro growled as he got up to stand. "The whole point of this is to hit one of them, not your own damn team. Or are you too stupid to know that?"

"I don't want to hear that from you, you Marimo!" Sanji's temper flared and he didn't even think to deny hitting the swordsman. "At least I've been participating! All you've managed to do is snore more obnoxiously than you usually do!"

"You've only been trying to hit Usopp and Chopper! The women are all out in the open and yet you haven't even managed to hit _one_ of them. I at least have hit people when I was _participating_ , which is more than you managed the entire time you have been _participating_!"

And with that, the fight became physical. The other three members easily ignored it and continued in their snowball flinging, having come to grow use to the constant bickering of the two, but quickly realized their mistake when suddenly the two of them tumbled past them and right into what remained of Fort Sunny! The two of them didn't even stop as they continued to fight on the remains of Fort Sunny, making Franky, Brook, and Luffy sob in despair and disbelief at how they had come to lose. As for Rei's team, she and the others cheered loudly at their victory. Nami and Usopp were hugging each other and jumping up and down chanting how they had won against while Chopper ran over to Robin, taking her hands into his hooves, and swinging their hands to and fro before running over to Rei and jumping into her arms and giving her a hug in his excitement. She merely laughed, pleased that her plan had worked out as easily as she had expected it to.

With both Zoro and Sanji together on the same team, it had only been a matter of time before they managed to demolish their own fort. If the two were not in some sort of life or death situation, their rivalry wasn't very lucrative- albeit it was entertaining to watch at times. It often ended with needless bickering and reckless fights that often destroyed anything that got into their path. Knowing that, Rei had purposely made sure they would both be on the same team on top of making sure that she had Robin and Nami to fan the flames of one of their usual argument subjects- Sanji's ideas on being a 'proper' gentleman.

Despite the fact that it might have seemed underhanded, she saw it more as a victory through strategy than physical measures. Sometimes things were out of her control (like Luffy's recklessness, his habit of wandering off when no one noticed, and knack of burying himself in trouble, supervised or otherwise, or Zoro's inability to walk a straight line without getting lost), but other things were perfectly in her control or within her ability to manipulate- knowing her nakama as well as she had to gave her the advantage of knowing how to win with any given team.

"So I guess this means you lot have the chores." Rei decided to get down to the business part of the loss. The whole point that she bothered winning was because of this perk and she noticed Franky scowling as he realized that it meant something somewhat punishing for him since he was on the losing side- especially since Rei knew he was rather responsible when the others were not. "Nami, what needs to be done before we leave the island?"

"Well, there is the grocery shopping, medical supplies needs to be refilled, we need more cooking water, I am running out of toiletries, but I will do that myself... And..." Nami dug into the pocket of her pink wool peacoat and pulled out a list, squinting a bit as she look for what she had yet mentioned. "Franky had asked for a few parts for the Sunny-Go and of course, cola. And I think there are a few things here that we need that are really miscellaneous, but required."

"Alright." Rei nodded her thank you at Nami before turning to look at the losing team. "Sanji." Immediately, the blonde chef was at attention, no longer trying to beat the shit out of Zoro who also turned his attention to the female kenshi. "I need you to go shopping for the groceries as well as get the water and the whatever is on the miscellaneous list, would you do that?"

"Of course Rei-pyon!" Hearts were in his eyes as he clutched his hands together and stood on his tip toes in his elation. "Anything for you, my dear!"

"I am happy to hear that Sanji." She gave him a brilliant smile before dropping the figurative bomb on him. "Because I will be sending Brook and Zoro with you to help carry things, so make sure you keep a good eye on them. Especially Zoro."

He nearly wilted at her words, knowing he could do nothing but mutter a yes at her request before glaring at Zoro who was laughing at how easily the young woman had trapped him into being in charge of the other two swordsmen. Brook wasn't as bad, but Zoro would be a hassle, especially since the two of them fought all the damn time and he didn't need that when doing his shopping.

"Franky, you will take Luffy with you and get the items you were requesting and the medical supplies. Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't wander off. You guys lost the snowball war, so you have to honor your loss." She said that last part more towards Luffy, knowing he would try to sneak out of it if it got too boring unless she called him out on keeping his word. He knew this and, though he didn't seem too pleased, he nodded.

"Actually," Usopp cut in, "Would it be okay if I go with Franky and Luffy? I might find something that I am looking for if I stick with them."

"Of course." Rei nodded. "You can do whatever you like. They just have to get their jobs done before they can goof off. When we get closer to the island, Nami will hand out the money. I think it would be a nice change of pace to sleep at an inn, so I will make reservations and we will meet at the local bar around dinner once all the supplies have been restocked."

"What about the festival?" Luffy interrupted her, more interested in the festival she had mentioned to him a few days ago. "I wanna go to that."

"Well, I will ask around about it and see when it is happening and tell you what I find out at dinner, okay?" Rei checked to make sure that would placate her captain.

"Shishishishi," He chuckled with a grin on his face before nodding vigorously. "That will be great! I hope it's today! I wanna party!"

"We'll see, but first you have to do your chores, then I will buy you a few things at the festival if you behave." Rei promised, knowing that it was a good way of positively reinforcing what Luffy had to do. "And if Franky says you weren't helping, I won't buy you a single thing."

Luffy's eyes widened as he glanced over to Franky who was giving him a stern look before looking back over to Rei who was also being rather stern in her expression. He nodded again, understanding that _food_ was now on the table and that it was on the line if he misbehaved.

"And Zoro, I will pick up some supplies for your swords. Is there anything else that you need?"

"A sense of direction, if they are selling that." Sanji spoke up before the green haired warrior could.

"How about a muzzle for this lovesick _dog_." Zoro nearly growled, causing the two of them to glare angrily at each other before getting into it once more.

"I'll ask later..." Rei mumbled as she watched, she felt a sweatdrop trickle down the side of her head at the absurdity of their current fight before going back to ignoring it. It happened all the time, after all.

"Neh, Neh, Rei!" Rei looked down at Chopper who was tugging on the hem of her shorts. "Can I go with you when we get to the island? Robin agreed to go shopping with Nami, so I wanna go with you!"

"Alright. You and me. We will make a day of it." Rei agreed, patting Chopper's hat as he squealed in his elation. She glanced over at Robin, quickly talking to the older woman who had an excited Nami chatting animatedly as she held onto her arm. "If you write me a list, I can see if I can find any titles to any books that you are looking for."

"Fufufufu, I will write you a copy of my reading list then for the books I still need to find and read. Thank you." Robin gave a slight inclination of her head to show her gratitude.

"No problem." She then glanced at their ginger navigator. "When you think we will be getting there Nami?"

Nami stopped her chatting to glance at where the island was slowly getting closer and closer, gauging the estimated time it would take to reach the docks. "I would say about an hour and a half- give or take."

"Okay then." Rei cast a look at the losing team. "Then let's start those _other_ chores that need to be done."

The losing team groaned, knowing that these were the very chores everyone hated. And what was worse was that Rei left Nami in charge of it.

~...~

They had managed to reach the island before the sun started to dip behind the horizon, but it was no longer early afternoon and night was on the approach. Rei didn't mind, neither did the others much, though there was a slight chance that they would have to do most of their shopping tomorrow. However, from what they learned from the harbormaster, the logpose took two days to settle and if they really wanted to wait for it, it gave them time to rest and relax on the handsome little island.

With it decided that they would stay, Nami handed out the money and all the groups headed out to go shopping while the stores were still open. Rei and Chopper had yet separated from Nami and Robin, seeing as all four of them had decided to go to the town square first before splitting up and going their separate ways.

"I hate to say this, and I really mean _hate_ , but this island is... weird." Nami muttered as she stared at the old styled buildings. The town was well managed despite how old the architecture looked, but there was something about the place that was putting off the navigator. She was a thief on top of having an excellent sense of direction due to being a cartographer and a navigator and her sixth sense was tingling about this town.

"Like what?" Rei was curious about what she would say, peering at the other woman from around the white hood of her sleeveless wool poncho-peacoat hybrid. Despite not getting cold, she preferred not to make a spectacle of herself by wearing summer clothes- though she had switched out her pants for a knee-high dark warm grey skirt with a similar style to it but with a petticoat underneath its length to poof it out and she still wore the leggings for 'Sanji'N'Brook' reasons. She was also wearing longer gloves that came up to her elbows to 'ward off the cold'.

"Everything is placed... like it has a… I don't know- purpose." Nami chewed on her lip as she fiddled with the buttons of her coat. She couldn't figure out the right words to explain what was setting off her senses.

"It's very symmetrical and spaced rather precise, more so than other cities or towns we often visit. Which is strange since the island is so asymmetrical in shape." Robin finally intervened with her own observation. "The town is old, but well managed, meaning that though it has been here, the people prefer to keep it this way rather than rebuild with more modern style buildings. It could be a way to draw in the tourists, but my intuition is telling me there is more to it." She pointed out to the town-square, where the four of them had been slowly meandering towards before they would break into their smaller groups to go sightseeing, and the others ahead as she continued to talk. "It's rather odd that they would build their town right on the cliff like that. The clock tower right next to that platform is especially suspicious. It is almost like the entire town is missing half of its layout this way. That's what makes it odd, especially when considering they named such an oddly asymmetrical island Snowflake- and I highly doubt it was because _of_ the snow."

"It _is_ built right to the edge of the cliff." Nami blinked in surprise as she realized that the ocean was visible from where they were and that the town did not continue any further. "What kind of idiot builds a town square to the very edge of a cliff?"

"Our forefathers, apparently." One of the townspeople interrupted their conversation to answer Nami's redundant question, laughing as he did so. He seemed to spook Chopper who was currently in his actual reindeer form since the young deer leaped behind Rei, hiding poorly as usual. "But, they had a pretty interesting reason, so please excuse the oddity of it."

"Oh, and what was the reason?" Rei was also interested, seeing as Water 7 itself had a pretty unique architecture due to the fact that the city was sinking. "Was there something on the other side at one point?"

"Not before the town was made." The man shook his head as he glanced over to the clock tower. "There are _stories_ about what happened to the other side of the island- because there once _was_ an other side, but nothing concrete. Our ancestors built the city like this under the leadership of an sorceress and she was the one that designed it this way- for a magical reason."

" _Sorceress?_ Magic?" Nami looked extremely skeptical, but Chopper had stars in his eyes at the word.

"That's the most common explanation we give tourist, but if you really want to research it, I think it's in our library. It has a lot of old tomes about the lore of this island, but, if who I _think_ it was organized our books, it might be difficult to find without her help and getting her to focus on anything right now might be a little impossible." He laughed a bit rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Oh? Maybe I will go and look later." Robin seemed interested, causing Nami to whine a bit at the thought of getting stuck in a library when there were cute boutiques to shop in. But there was a part of her that was interested as well, enough that if Robin insisted, she'd help her look.

"Thank you for your assistance," Rei was sure to add in. A random stranger on the street hadn't needed to start talking to them, especially after Nami had somewhat rudely insulted their people's traditions.

"Hey!" Chopper spoke up, still slightly nervous, but he was too curious to pass up asking. "We heard there was a festival this time of year. When is it?"

"A talking reindeer. _Huh_. Something new every year." The man blinked as he looked at the peculiar talking reindeer in slight surprise, but wasn't completely shocked at the idea of the animal talking. "But you were asking about our winter festival? Oh, that's actually tonight. That's why there are so many stands being set up."

"It's tonight!" Chopper lost all of his apprehension as he took a few steps forward.

"Yeah. It officially starts at midnight tonight and officially ends at the stroke of midnight tomorrow. However, the stands open once things get dark. Actually, most, if not all our stores are open throughout the whole event. It is a lot of fun and _everyone_ is welcome to participate." He grinned again as he seemed to know something they didn't. "If you guys end up staying, you'll definitely have a night you'll _never_ forget."

"Hey! Claude! Are you going to flirt all day or are you going to help us with these beams? The platforms and stands aren't going to set _themselves_ up, you know, and only the ancestors above _know_ if Nicoletta will remember to come on time to delegate!" Someone shouted from down the road, causing the man that had been conversing with them to turn his head and shout back. Robin noticed Rei perking a bit at the conversations, as if she had heard something interesting. The older woman decided to keep quiet until their unexpected informer left.

"Coming! And don't let Nicoletta hear you talking like that. She's just as busy as the rest of us, you bastard!"

"She's probably forgotten the time!" He barked out a laugh. "And her assistant is running errand. I just saw the lad down at the baker's. He won't manage to make it back in time to kick her into gear for a while, so Nicoletta is hopeless lost to us until he finishes his chores."

"Aye!" The man named Claude yelled in agreement before turning and tipping his hat to the women and the reindeer. "Well if you will excuse me. I must go. Have fun, ladies, Mr. Reindeer."

"Thank you!" They all chimed as he left, smiles on their faces to show their gratitude. Rei's was almost immediately gone the moment he turned around and headed over to the other men carrying the heavy beam.

"Something wrong, Rei?" Robin asked as the four of them resumed their walking, seeing that thoughtful expression on Rei's face as the girl mulled over her thoughts. Nami seemed to be thinking herself, but she instantly turned to look at the teal eyed woman when Robin called the strategist's name.

"Hmmm?" Rei's eyes flickered over to Robin as she was pulled out of her thoughts. "Oh, well, it was something that man said. You know how I said my father told me that by paying attention to people's culture and speech habits you can learn a lot about how they think and what ancient culture their newer culture was derived from?"

"Yes, which is one way you said you can understand your opponent. By understanding their culture and the base rules of their society, you can know how their core beliefs were fostered and what they were raised to perceive, which allows you enough insight to have an advantage tactic-wise." Robin and Rei had many discussions about why anthropology was such an important factor when being a strategist.

"Yes, well," Rei's brows furrowed as she began to speak aloud her thoughts, the four of them still walking. "Didn't you notice how unfazed the people at the dock where about the amount of pirates that were docked? I counted six different flags alone and that is not including ours." She frowned at that conclusion, but continued on. "Now, I know that Water 7 itself isn't very concerned with the amount of pirates that dock on the island, but that was because we had our shipwrights and they aren't exactly pushovers."

"So basically what you are suggesting, especially since this island seems to be doing financially well, they either have enough Marine protection that pirates aren't an issue or they have some sort of internal protection that offers them the same confidence that pirates aren't going to cause problems." Nami surmised, looking around and taking in the general area as she personally shuffled through her memories since getting here. "I didn't see any sort of Marine outpost or even a single Naval ship, so it has the be the latter."

"No Marines means that this is an independent city-state, much like Water 7." Rei concluded, but she was still looking rather serious about the whole thing. "And though those men looked rather strong and capable, pirates in New World are not pushovers either, but since no one has yet to sneer at us- even at the docks when we were talking to the harbormaster, that means that there have been no lasting ill impression of pirates."

"Meaning pirates behave when they are here." Chopper added that in, proud that he was easily following along with Rei's brainstorm.

"Yes. And, on top of that, you didn't faze that gentleman either. He looked at you like, while you _were_ an interesting spectacle, you weren't so far-fetched as to panic or freak out about. Like just another thing. People don't _do_ that. Not without cause."

"He even knew I was a reindeer!" Chopper beamed, pleased that he had not had to argue that he wasn't a damn Tanuki again.

"That could be because they _have_ reindeer on the island," Rei waved off that factor, "but they are _use_ to the _un_ usual…"

"But that's not what's really bothering you. You didn't start thinking about this until that man said something." Robin pointed out, hitting the nail right on the head.

"It was a phrase that he used. 'Ancestors above'. That's what got me thinking." Rei finally admitted.

"So," Nami shrugged, no longer sure as to what the big deal was about something so simple. "I've heard you use that phrase thousands of times."

"Yes," Rei looked over at Nami with great concern. "But where did I pick that phrase up from, Nami?"

"I don't know… your father?" The ginger guessed, not very sure why that was so important. Phrases where just phrases, right?

"No," Rei shook her head as she started to scan the area, pulsing her Qi out gently as she tried to pick something up on her radar. "While there _might_ be other cultures that use a terminology like that, I think they would hardly use it so flippantly like that. No, it comes from the same source for where I picked it up, and I learned it while I was living on Soshi Shima. I was _taught_ that phrase by _dragons_." She whispered that last sentence low as she was still scanning the town square before them in slight apprehension.

"So… that means…" Nami gulped as she paled at her own conclusion, even Robin looked a little tense and Chopper was on high alert as he was twitching his nose for any aggressive scent he could find.

"There's a _Dragon_ or a _Dragian_ living on this island." Rei finally concluded. "And he _or_ she could be _anywhere_."

"And an island with the name _Snowflake_ sounded so _nice_!" Nami bemoaned. She already knew that this would cause trouble.

"Nami, you are completely misconstruing this," Rei tried to ease the young woman's fears as they practically had to drag her across the town square to reach their first destination.

Though they had agreed that the winning team got to be chore free, the ladies had decided it would probably work out better if they were the ones to pick the inn they would be staying at, especially now that there was confirmation on that festival. Chopper was in his reindeer form _because_ he was such a sweetheart and was helping carry their overnight bags on his back. The women had been kind and put everything one bag for him- though it had taken Robin and Rei a lot of effort to convince Nami that she would only need one or two outfits tops, but somehow all three of them had at least an extra outfit packed away in case of, well, _Mugiwara_ occurrences. The men had all it pretty easy and their bag was pretty small, which was sorta sad, because there were more of them and they still managed to pack lighter. Then again, none of them probably had thought of bringing extra _shoes_ too…

"I'm _misconstruing_ the fact that there is a freaking _dragon_ living on this _island_!" Nami squawked rather indignantly. Rei was just grateful they had gone down a quiet street that hardly had anyone to _hear_ this. "Last time I checked dragons were _big, scary,_ and trying to _eat_ us! Remember Punk Hazard?!"

"I swear, you mention those _fake_ , horrible things again and I _will_ _**eat**_ you!" Rei practically snarled, her pupils narrowing into nothing but slits as her temperament got the best of her. She was still so pissed about those things. It was quite the sore subject since it made such a mockery to everything she knew and was.

Nami paled as she realized her mistake and stood up straight, bowing a few times as she apologized quickly. "Right, right, my mistake! They weren't real. Not real. So unreal! Fake!"

"Sorry," Rei mumbled as she shook her head and calmed down. "I didn't mean to do that. It's just... it pisses me off that those hideous things were actually perceived as _dragons_." And Luffy had kept going on and on about those two _things_ being her cousins. It was enough to provoke her more feral side at the mere mention of them. "I have grown up with them, Nami, they don't eat anything with a higher level of sentience, like humans," she cast a playful glance at Chopper who looked slightly nervous at her display as well, "or talking animals."

"But that's all I have to reference. I mean I've seen you shift into a dragon maybe once or twice? You don't do it very often and Kaito _maybe_ once. I have never seen what an actual dragon looks like. All I can see when I think of dragons are those two… er… imitations." Nami confessed, shaking her head as well to try to get a grip on _herself_. She shouldn't have acted like that, but her fear had overtaken her as well.

"Dragons aren't mindless like that. They are wise and attune to the world and her creatures." Rei tried not to look hurt, but it really offended her to be compared to those two _things_. They were everything that she knew dragons were not. "And this dragon might not necessarily be taking its natural form. It might look like a human, especially since those that are coexisting with it haven't taken to engraving its image in any of their insignias." She motioned to some of the buildings and the decorative markings in some of them. None of them even resembled a dragon. "They don't worship it like a deity, so they must see it as a part of their society." She paused before blinking, realization hitting her suddenly. "They see her as a sorceress- or at least their ancestors did."

"A _sorceress_? Really? That old myth that guy told us?" Nami wasn't sure whether to believe her or to be her usual skeptical self.

"Myths and legends are all based off of some truths, Nami," Robin reminded her. "So perhaps this sorceress was not magical, but instead, wise and powerful in ways they did not understand, so instead of calling her abilities what they truly were, they fell into the usual trope of calling it magic."

"So we now know that this dragon is a 'she' and that she has been here for a long time and that they don't see her as a dragon- but a sorceress? So she looks human…" Nami surmised more for herself than anyone else.

"But how will we know this dragon when we see her?" Chopper asked, very interested in the subject since usually Rei gave only a water downed explanation since Luffy was usually the one asking her and he never understood if she got too complex with her explanations. Most of those usually ended up with Rei calling something a ' _mystery_ ' and Luffy understanding the bare minimum because he couldn't really comprehend.

"For you, possibly her scent." Rei told him. "Also, though she might not be a mindless killer, she is _still_ a predator, so you might get a little nervous around her, just like when you were scared of me when we first met. You thought it was because I was a human and you'd never met one before, but there was that little voice that was telling you to run, wasn't there?"

"Yes." Chopper admitted solemnly. He didn't like the idea of being afraid of Rei. She was his very first friend and had done nothing to him to deserve such feelings, but it was merely his animal instinct and he couldn't help how she made him feel originally.

"But for those who don't have more keen senses," Rei turned to glance mirthfully at Nami and Robin, knowing neither had her or Chopper's sense of smell. "You'll just have to make eye contact with everyone you meet. You'll know her when you see her eyes."

"Her eyes?" Nami blinked.

"Yes, it will give her away. Also, it will give away her natural Qi element, which tells you what type of dragon she is."

" _Really_?" Robin was fascinated by the concept, causing Rei to smile.

"Un. That's why, when I go from using my natural ability of fire to my devil fruit ability of ice, my eyes change in accordance. If I am channelling fire Qi, my eyes are red like a Kasai Dragon's and when I am channelling ice Qi, my eyes turn teal, just like an Aisu Dragon's would. It's one of the benefits of a natural Kasai Dragian like myself having consumed a devil fruit that gives me the abilities of my natural opposite element. It just took me a while to properly utilize in everyday occurrences."

"Right, you are practically a dragon yourself." Nami muttered. She usually forgot since Rei was also a devil fruit user that some of her abilities came naturally to her.

"Half-breed." Rei corrected with pride in her voice. "Though, if I am to be correct, it really doesn't matter how little dragon's blood a Dragian has. Just a drop is more than enough once they consume the Atae fruit. That's what reawakens and stimulates the Dragon genetics within their DNA. However, it is mostly a useless gift if you don't understand how to use it. I lived with Dragons for a while and that's how I was able to learn how to manipulate Qi and how to shift my form and such. Though I guess eating the Ryu Ryu no Mi: Aisu Edition helped me advance much faster than most of those my age would be capable of doing…" She trailed off as she thought about it for a moment before shaking herself free of her tangent and getting back to what her point had been. "Anyways, you'll know by how her eyes will look. Not only will it be vibrant, but you've seen how mine look and it will be just as enrapturing and unusual."

"So just look for the lady with molten lava for eyes, got it." Nami joked, trying to lighten up her mood. She was not keen on running into a dragon, just like she was never keen on running into the Marines. Powerful people that were not allies was just asking for trouble, especially if one didn't know if they were friendly or not.

"Probably not a Kasai. They don't do well in cold." Rei corrected with a slight embarrassed laugh. How many times had she conked out from the cold because she was naturally a fire user before she had mastered her ability to instantly acclimate through her ice abilities? Too many to count.

"An Aisu Dragon then?" Robin decided to see if they couldn't narrow down what to keep an eye out for.

"Probably not. Kasai and Aisu both live on Soshi Shima and as far as I know, all their nests are the same: remote and isolated from human society. They don't care for humans much anymore and prefer to keep away. I know the island I grew up on had a closed door policy pretty much so I don't doubt that any other nests would be the same. Same with Koudo and Amatsu dragons… Maybe a Mizu… no… they prefer looking like merfolk… and their counterparts, Fuzei, like multiple appendages… and they don't like to be on ground very long…" Rei mumbled to herself as she tried to narrow down the list. "Well… Possibly a Denkou, but no, they are just as isolated from what I've heard, and there is only a few tribes of Denkou Dragians left from what I've heard too and they _all_ have horrible wanderlust… as do Kaze… I don't know much about-…"

"How many different types are there?" Nami whispered to Robin as Rei continued to mumble out the different kinds of dragons there were.

"If I remember correctly, she told me once that there are fourteen elements of to which a dragon can fall under."

"But there _aren't_ fourteen elements!" Nami whispered harshly in her disbelief.

Robin chuckled mirthfully. "To humans, but Dragons apparently see the world differently. Just like how fire and ice are opposites over what we originally thought would be fire and water. They are of nature and nature dictates their natural opposites, not _human_ understanding of what nature is."

"Just keep your eyes out for unusual colored eyes." Rei finally decided to tell them, unknowingly interrupting their conversation.

"After all that! You can't figure it out?" Nami stomped her foot as she fumed, but really, everyone knew that she was just stressed out, not that she was actually angry.

"Don't bother looking for red or teal eyes?" Rei gave her a slight inclination of her head to the side as she gave Nami an apathetic look. She really couldn't figure it out and there were too many variables that she didn't know to properly narrow it down. Whoever this Dragon _or_ Dragian was, was a possibly a deviant to their own society's rules anyways.

"Ugh, I don't know why I bothered to ask." Nami grumbled before beginning to march forward once more. "Let's just find an acceptable inn. I am not sleeping in a tavern again, and then I am going to go shopping. If I run into a Dragon or a Dragian or _whatever_ , I will just beg it not to eat me."

"Dragons don't _eat_ \- oh nevermind." Rei dropped that argument. It wasn't worth getting into again and she really just wanted to spend time with Chopper like she had planned, not hunt down a Dragon. Knowing herself, anyways, she'd eventually run into her. Dragons could be territorial and this one would eventually notice her presence and make herself known to be sure that Rei wasn't trying to take over or anything.

"So exciting!" Robin commented to herself with a giddy grin on her face while Chopper shed a few frightened tears. "And here I was worried this island would be too tame."

"Robin~!" Chopper whined. He just wanted one island where something wasn't trying to kill them all.

"If Rei is not worried, neither should we." Robin chastised his worried behavior, encouraging the poor reindeer not to be frightened despite what his instincts might be telling him to be. "Now come along or we might lose our shopping companions. You wanted to spend time with Rei, no?"

"Yes," Chopper heaved a heavy sigh, reminding himself that as long as Rei was there, nothing would ever harm him. He shook his head, as a way to shake himself free of his worry and fear, and stood upright on his four hooves before moving towards where Rei and Nami were already walking. Rei would protect him and if not all of his nakama. As long as they were together, he didn't really have to fear anything.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Chopper shouted as he picked up his pace to catch up. Robin too moved a little faster to catch up to the other two women.

Robin, personally, was much more excited now since learning about a Dragon residing on the island. Snowflake Island was getting more and more interesting by the minute. How thrilling~!

~...~

Luffy groaned as he marched behind Franky, carrying a barrel of cola on his shoulder and a bag of- well he wasn't sure, but it wasn't food- in his other hand. He had known it would be boring to do the chores, but the way the shipwright and the sniper shopped, it took them _forever_ sometimes to pick out what they were looking for and even then, both of them _fussed_ about it like it really mattered.

It was boring. He was bored. He wanted adventure and excitement and the only thing that was making him stay where he was was the promise of food that Rei had made him. She would buy him food and so, in order to avoid Nami's wrath when he 'overate' and 'spent all their money on his stomach', Luffy was diligently trying to behave.

He scowled at the street ahead of them, a long frown on his face as he sulked. He really wanted to go exploring and find something cool. Not just stand here with things he couldn't eat.

It was then that he heard a wind-up melody and suddenly he was focusing on what was actually going on around him. He turned his head to where he heard the noise and instantly perked up at the sight of the storefront.

'Toy Store' was painted on the window with a fine gothic font in gold with red outlines and through the window there sat the most exciting display that Luffy had ever witnessed! There was a train set going round and round while different wind up toys danced and played and even the music was coming from a music box with a little ballerina twirling around while there were toy puppies barking and flipping and a monkey on a unicycle on a tightrope hung near the top going back and forth without falling.

"Ah! So cool!" Luffy couldn't help but cry out as he quickly made his way over to stare with stars in his eyes at the variety of mechanical toys that seemed almost as alive as the ones on Dressarossa- only those one had been actual people.

"Oi, Luffy, what are you doing, bro?" Franky's voice pulled him away from his little daydream to look behind him to where the huge cyborg stood with Usopp, both of them had yet to fully realize what Luffy was looking at, only having noticed that he had rushed over there, abandoning his quiet spot next to the blue haired man.

Usopp was the first to realize what storefront Luffy was admiring when his face lit up with a smile and he too quickly made his way over to the store, forgetting that he had been helping Franky go over their almost complete shopping list in his haste. Frank didn't mind as he too was drawn in by the beautiful toys.

"Man, these are some classics," he noted as he watched the puppy toys bark and flip, which caused Luffy to burst out into laughter. "I haven't seen something like this since I was young. These are pretty quality toys though, the fur it all good, nothing's matted or aged, so they must have been made here."

"That's right. Everything sold at this store is handmade with tons of love and care." Came a voice from behind them, causing the three to tear their eyes away to look at the speaker. He was a young lad, maybe seventeen- the same age as their doctor- and he had a few bags of groceries in each arm. He had brown hair and walnut colored eyes. He wore a leather apron around him and there were a few visible oil and grease stains in his clothes. Franky and Usopp quickly deduced internally that the boy probably worked at this very shop.

"Really?!" Luffy's eyes shined even brighter as his grin stretched ear to ear. "All of the toys?!"

"Yeah." The younger teenager nodded with a proud smile. "Nicoletta's toys are the best in the whole world! She's been doing this for years and, even today, people will come from all over to commission her to build toys!"

"So cool!" Luffy squealed as he turned back to look through the window again. He only stared a moment more before turning back to the lad. "Hey! Can we go in?"

"I don't see why not. I am here and the store _is_ op…en… Ah shit." He cursed as he walked past the three of them and pushed the door open while still balancing all his bags of food. The three of them silently followed, not sure why, but whatever was about to happen seemed interesting and the toy store _was_ open- the sign outside said so.

"Nicoletta!" The boy called out, setting down his burden while looking around the store.

Though the display had looked clean and orderly, if not a little busy with all the toys that were on, the store itself was a bit cluttered. The shop _front_ had toys on shelves and on racks and some were even on the floor, but past the counter and the cash register, there was complete chaos of toy parts, gears, springs, and other such oddities that Franky and Usopp recognized as tools for woodcarving and building. But, to Luffy, he had no clue to what they were.

"Nicoletta!" The boy called out again, getting more frustrated as he walked around, looking for the toymaker with little luck.

" _NICOLETTA!"_ He tried once more, this time getting a response, causing all four to jump a bit at the unexpectedness and proximity of the response.

"Wot is it, Blitzen? I am working, damn it! Why are ye incessantly chanting my name over and over! I heard ye the first time!" The woman had a slight accent, mostly with her vowels, but was easily understood. She sounded put out by all his calling, possibly even irked by it. She wasn't even looking over to where they all were, hunched over her of her many worktables with a screwdriver in hand as she tightened a screw in her current project. Her black curly, wild hair was haphazardly pulled into a ponytail with little or no effort having been put into the hairstyle as she had dozens of fly aways falling out and into her face. She seemed to entranced by her work to care.

"If you _heard_ me, why didn't you reply?" The boy, no, Blitzen asked impatiently as he walked over to where she was sitting, tinkering with the machinery that would end up being a beautiful toy.

"I _did_!" The woman argued, but still didn't look away from her work. If anything, if the three listened hard enough, they could hear her muttering something about how the calibration of the toy was still off and possibly dictating the mathematical equations involved in fixing the issue.

"You _didn't_." The young lad argued, heaving out a heavy sigh, well use to this reply of her. He continued on before she had a chance to give him any such reply. " _If_ you did. You did it in your head again, Nicoletta, because you didn't make a verbal reply."

"Oh wot, I did?" She paused in her work to look up at him with a surprised look before it turned sheepish at her realization that it had been true. "Oh damnit, sorry Deary, I didn't mean to. Wot do ye need?"

"You're late." Blitzen admonished her, putting his hands on his hips as he tapped his foot. " _Again."_

" _No_ ," she drawled out as she returned to working. "I still have an hour."

"Which clock are you looking at Nicoletta?" He asked rather shortly, trying to refrain from lecturing an _adult_ woman when he was just a teenager.

"That one." She waved her screwdriver over to a clock in a corner that was not visible to the Mugiwara pirates. They said nothing, too absorbed in this interesting conversation to say anything or do anything but watch how it all would pan out.

" _That one_ is broken, remember? You took out the spring because the coo-coo bird was driving you up the wall when it went off every hour _on_ the hour?" The lad actually threw his hands up in the air in his exasperation that she wouldn't even _remember_ that she had done so. "It's _hours past_ that time!"

It was then that it really seem to hit Nicoletta that she should not be working on her toy because she was very, very, _very_ late. "Oh _shit!_ " She yelled as she jumped up, knocking over her stool in her haste, running about her cluttered work area, pulling at random items she would need, knocking things over as she grabbed her needed items as quickly as possible before rushing over her counter, nearly tripping three times as she made a mad dash for her door, clumsily falling out of it, and, even after she was on the street, she nearly crashed into a person walking by as she kept running.

Blitzen made a sour face, crossing his arms as he stared out the window of the toy shop, ticking his fingers against his folded arms as if waiting for something. Suddenly, the woman was dashing past the toy store once more, realizing that she had gone the wrong way. He let out a heavy sigh and he lamented to himself. "Oh Nicoletta Klaus, you are perhaps the most brilliant woman I've ever known, too bad you're such a klutzy airhead with no sense of time to be had."

He was quickly reminded of their potential customers when the one in the straw hat burst out laughing. He was holding his gut as tears nearly streamed down his face at the toymaker's antics. "She's great! That was funny!"

"Yeah, it can be a bit humorous," the boy conceded with a tired smile, "But I'm her apprentice, so it's a little hard to find it funny when it happens _all_ the time."

"So you help her make the toys?" Usopp glanced around the room and noticed how much more complex the ones inside the store were compared to the ones in the window.

"I do sometimes, but I haven't been able to make toys on my own yet. Mostly I am responsible for the shop, customer service, finances, taking care of the chores, making our meals, the laundry, and keeping her schedule for her..."

"You sound more like her caretaker than her apprentice." Usopp couldn't help but note out loud with a sweatdrop trickling down the back of his neck.

"Sometimes it feels like _I'm_ the adult and she's the child," Blitzen agreed with a heavy sigh, but he shook his head and laughed dryly at it. "But she means well, she just gets too obsessed when she's working on a toy or a commission. Someone has to make sure she eats and is taken care of, so I do that. It's the least I can do. She took me in after my parents died."

"Are you sure she took you in for the right reasons?" Franky asked, concerned about the lad since he knew back at Water 7 that sometimes people would take in orphans and use them as indentured slaves instead of children that they had adopted. It was something that had really pissed off Kaito and Franky had learned to keep an eye out for to stop it when he could.

"She honestly _did_." Blitzen was not at all offended by the tall cyborgs words. In fact, he let out a laugh while he thought about it, smiling as he shook his head. "Nicoletta _tried_ to take care of me, but it ended up she would burn all our meals since she can't cook for shit, forget to do the laundry for weeks until we were out of everything, and she would even forget that she needed to rest- even though she remembered to make sure I was put down for the night. But she _tried_ her best, and that's all I can ask for. It was just easier for me to do it than depend on her to do it _right_. You've seen firsthand how much of a scatterbrain she is. She'd wear clothes with holes in them if I didn't mend them or buy her new ones. She's just too caught up in her thoughts and her work- she can't help it."

"As long as you're okay with it," Franky shrugged before looked around the shop. "But man, she does some pretty super work." His eyes landed on a rather unique item beyond the counter. "Hey, is that an automaton?"

"Yup." Blitzen nodded, walking over to the item and carefully picking it up and slowly bringing it to the counter so that they could see it better. "She's been working on this commission for the last three weeks. It's almost finished, but it's only the cosmetics of the toy that need to be finished. It works perfectly." He looked at how starry eyed all three men were and asked with a nervous smile, "Would you like to see what it does?"

"Can we? Really!" Usopp asked as he quickly snatched Luffy's hand before their captain accidentally broke it with his usual rough handling.

"Yeah, Nicoletta has no qualms about people admiring her work. She likes making people smile." The boy quickly pulled out a windup key from the pocket of his work apron and put it into the automaton's back and wound it up. "Each automaton usually has one unique trait or ability that the person who commissioned it requested. This one dances ballet."

As soon as he pulled out the wind up key the mechanical doll came to life, slowly getting up from its seated position and began to dance and twirl on its toes across the counter with the young apprentice keeping a close eye on it less it fell off the counter. All three were amazed at its movements and how easily it moved and flowed, especially Usopp and Franky, seeing as both of them were amateur inventors. To see the work of a master was awe-inspiring.

Once the automaton was finished with its dance in moved into a crouch before going back to its beginning position once more. Blitzen smiled as the three of them roared with excitement, clapping and cheering at the performance the toy had given them.

"This is actually one of Nicoletta's easier jobs." He decided to tell them as he carefully moved the toy back to the exact spot he had gotten it from. "She's a master engineer and architect among many other things. So while she's not good at domestics, she makes up for it easily in the other work she does, I think."

"That was so cool!" Luffy couldn't help but drool over the toy. "I have never seen a toy dance like that!" He paused as he rethought his statement. "Well, one that was _built_ anyways." Sugar had made toys from people, so that didn't really count.

"Ah, you're talking about Dressarossa? Yeah, Nicoletta was always complaining about those toys. Said that it was the work of a devil fruit."

"It was." Usopp nodded. "Doflamingo had a devil fruit user on his crew that allowed her to make people into toys. The only way to reverse it was knock her unconscious."

"Really? I don't think Nicoletta knew _that_ , but she was aware that something wasn't right about them." Blitzen was very interested in that fact and stored it away to tell his master later. "She has been making toys for years and for a town to suddenly have living toys that were beyond even _her_ capabilities of creating where highly suspicious. That was pretty much the only news she kept up on. That and some other devil fruit user who makes toys… I can't remember what his name was, but he eats trash and uses his ability to make toys out of them."

"Eat trash and make toys? Sounds weird." Luffy stated with a confident nod.

"Says a _rubber_ man." Usopp smacked him lightly upside the head for making such remarks when he himself was strange.

"Hey, do you think that your master would mind showing me a few things? I dabble in machinery and engineering as well. It'd be _super_ cool to have someone like her to trade ideas with." Franky asked with enthusiasm as he carefully picked up a toy from his side of the counter. "Or at least possibly let me buy one of these to pull apart."

"Don't mess with the toys." Blitzen warned him with a very serious look. "If there is one thing Nicoletta can't stand, it is when people pull her toys apart with the intent to dissect them. Children playing with them until they break is one thing, but to pull them apart for any other reason makes her mad. If you want something to inspect, I would suggest coming back after the festival when she's a little less rushed and can _give_ you something that she wouldn't mind you pulling apart."

"Ah! So there is a festival!" Luffy grew excited at that news. He had seen the stands, but he wasn't sure if that was just a part of the towns weirdness or if it was really for a festival- but then again, he didn't know when it was.

"Yeah, the stands open tonight, but it officially starts at midnight. We have a special event that happens when the clock tower strikes midnight and it will last till it strikes midnight again. It happens every year at this time, but no matter how many years you witness it, it is still pretty damn cool."

"What happens that makes it so awesome?" Usopp asked him, cocking his head to the side with great interest.

Blitzen just smirked as he pulled a finger up to his lips and spoke around the appendage. "Se-cr-et~!" He laughed at their disappointed faces but waved at them consolingly. "I can't tell you. No one here talks about it to outsiders, but we _do_ allow outsiders to participate. Most of the time, they won't talk about it out of respect. Pirates too. You'll just have to wait till midnight tonight and watch. It's an amazing event, that much I will tell you."

"Alright, thanks." Franky nodded, setting down the toy. "Well then, I guess I will come back after the festival for a chance to talk to- Nicoletta, right?"

"Nicoletta Klaus." Blitzen nodded. "And I'm Blitzen, in case I forgot to mention that."

"Franky."

"Usopp."

"Monkey D. Luffy."

"Wait, did you say your name is Monkey D. Luffy?" Blitzen blinked, surprised at that name. "I've heard of you."

"Well we are wanted pirates. I'm going to be King of the-" Luffy managed to say before Usopp had the chance to cover his mouth. The sniper didn't want to freak the kid out.

"Pirates, huh?" The lad seemed unfazed by that, not even worried in the slightest. "Don't worry, Nicoletta finds pirates fascinating. She's not a huge fan of the Marines, but there are times she gets some pretty famous underworld-ers, pirates, and even revolutionists in here to commission toys. They all behave, if not, they incur Nicoletta's wrath and she's damn frightening when she's pissed." He shook his head as he tried to recall why that name was familiar to him. "It's not because of your bounty. It's some other reason… Hmmmm, I'll have to ask Nicoletta when she gets back- when she gets back. She'll probably be gone until the end of the festival, so definitely come back in."

"Okay, thanks!" Luffy grinned at him. He wasn't perturbed by the idea that there was some other reason the boy knew his name. In fact, it'd be interesting to know. This mystery island sure wasn't boring when there weren't _chores_ to be done.

"We better finish up buying what we need and getting it back to Sunny if we want to get done in time to meet up with everyone before the festival." Franky spoke up, slowly heading out the door and expecting the other two to follow. "Come on guys, Luffy pick up your things and let's go."

"It was nice meeting you!" Usopp bid the boy goodbye before heading out.

"I hate chores." Luffy gripped as he picked up the barrel he had set down as well as his other bags. "I just want meat~!" He turned and also gave a smile as he said his goodbye. "Bye Bye Blitzy."

" _Blitz_ _ **en**_ _!"_

"Shishishi, yeah, that."

"At least apologize when you mess someone's name up!" The boy couldn't help but shout after him, though the straw hatted man was already out the door and running to catch up with his group. He once again became thoughtful as he spoke to himself. "Monkey D. Luffy…" He blinked as he had a sudden thought. "Isn't there a toy that had been commissioned for someone by that name?"

~...~

"It's almost time to meet up with everyone. Even so, is there anywhere else you want to go?" Rei asked as she tucked away the last book that had been on their shopping list that they had been able to find at the town's local bookstores and antique stores. Chopper looked at her with a wag of his reindeer tail as he thought about it. He was helping out by carrying most of the bulk of the books in his side pouches while Rei carried what she could in shopping bags.

The two of them had managed to spend the entire afternoon together once the whole 'there is a dragon here' craze blew over. Nami was no doubt still nervously looking over her shoulder as she kept close to Robin, but Chopper had long forgotten his fear as he and Rei had gone to all the stores he had been interested in, though he had been sure to be a gentledeer and allow Rei to stop in a few stores that held her fancy (a few clothes stores and even a weapon shop where she let him play with a bow under her supervision). She had even convinced the cotton candy stand guy to make him a bag of his favorite sweet before the festival had officially begun!

All in all, it had been a wonderful day with his precious friend and, though he was a little sad that it was soon to end, he had one thing he still wanted to look at. "Can we see what they've been building by the clocktower?"

"I think it's a platform, though why they are doing that when they have that already raised half-circle stage is beyond me." Rei couldn't help but be curious herself. She glanced at the sky, gauging the time before looking at Chopper and giving him a nod and smile. "Alright, let's go see then."

Chopper grinned as he broke into a trot, excited to get closer to where all the people were working diligently to finish before the sun finally dipped down into the sky. It was getting close and it was obvious that the men were rushing more than when Rei and he had first cut through the area with Nami and Robin.

"No, no, no!" Came the urgent tone of a woman as the men were adding the final pieces of their platform. It looked like they used the same pieces each year, because even from a distance, Rei could see it was engraved with boughs of holly and other garland that was custom the this sort of winter festival. "It has to be in the correct spot, Valjean! It can't be over too far or even off by a breath!"

Chopper and she continued their way over to the edge of the town square and to where the cliff stood with only the stone platform and the clock tower looming over it as its constant companions.

"Yes, Nicoletta, we know. We've been doing this with our fathers as they did with their fathers and so on." One of the men, possibly this Valjean, tried to placate the frantic woman. His tone wasn't condescending in the least as he spoke to her. "And every year you fret about this. And what have I told you each year?" He was pretty calm about the whole thing, talking to her without any frustration and complete understanding.

From where Rei stood, though she could not see the full features of her face, only that her hair was wild mess of loose curls trying to be constrained by a sole band in her hair and failing, she could see the woman think about it for a moment. Her face scrunching up as she came to her conclusion. "Stop squirming about and stand still?"

"Aye, if you did, you wouldn't keep thinking we were off. Your perception is off when you are standing there." He gently grabbed her shoulders and moved her a few inches, careful not to cause her to trip. "Here's where you are suppose to stand, you giddy thing. I swear, my boys are less excited than you and they love this festival with their entire beings."

"Oh." She blinked as she stared at it. "Well now, this is better! It's right where it's suppose to be! Ye are all doing a great job!" Her comment caused the lot of the men to roar with laughter at her realization.

"You know we would never mess this up!" The one Rei recognized as Claude shouted over to where the woman was. "It means the world to you!"

"I prefer thinking it means the _universe_ to me, but I guess the world is an _alright_ second." She relented before giving the men a curtsy, one of her booted feet sliding behind the other as she bent her knees and grabbed the edges of her brilliantly rich red skirt that had many clear beads connected that dangled and clicked when they managed to hit each other, revealing some of her cream colored petticoat underneath. She also wore a creamy long sleeve button up shirt that was of a thicker material as to ward off the cold without a coat and a golden embroidered forest green vest that hugged her form nicely. "This one thanks thee gentlemen from the bottom of her heart for all that thee hath done for she."

Rei blinked at the archaic words spoken as nostalgia filled her. It wasn't everyday she met someone who spoke the human tongue in such an outdated manner. In fact...

"Wow, getting a little old school on us there, Nicoletta?" One of the guys teased as the others grinned proudly at her praise.

"It's proper thanks from where I grew up. Though we hardly speak like that, when we wish to express our deepest gratitude, we go the extra mile." She waved a finger at him, "and don't think that ye all have not earned such gratitude!"

"Thou must be greatly moved by the efforts of these men if thou art going to such extreme lengths. Prithee, wouldst thou tell this one if what she suspects to be true? She hardly meets others who speak such an archaic pattern as thou hath just displayed."

The woman turned to look her in the eye after hearing her speak with a stern look and that was all Rei needed to confirm her suspicions, though the type of elemental she was, Rei had not been expecting at all.

"Munashii..." Rei mumbled as she stared in awe at how deep and rich the color purple her eyes were. They were a richer, deeper color than an amethyst's. Even from where she stood, she could see how the woman's eyes rippled and billowed and fluxed like nebula clouds. She wondered if she could get close enough if there were stars glimmering in her eyes as well, perhaps even an entire galaxy.

"Ah," her eyes softened a bit at her realization of who was addressing her. "A youngling out and about on her pilgrimage. I haven't seen an Aisu user like yerself in quite a long time."

"Actually," Rei drawled, heating up her internal temperature so that the her eyes changed into a brilliant crimson color that she had been born with. "I am naturally a Kasai user."

The female void dragon blinked in her surprise before bursting out into a loud, boisterous laugh. "Hohohoho! A drake who ate a devil fruit! I have heard of ye, young _Crimson Drake_! Ye have made quite the noise with the government, especially after yer successful campaign in Dressarossa! And yet they are so oblivious to the truth of the matter that it's damn near the funniest thing I've ever heard of!"

"You've heard of me?"

"Hard _not_ to when it's one of the things Nanami is constantly jabbering on about when she visits or calls, so I bother to take the time to stay current with yer voyage." She looked around as she said that as if searching for someone else. "Is she here with ye?"

"I was sorta hoping to find her here." Rei tried not to look disappointed, but it seemed that the mysterious woman wasn't Nanami at all, though meeting a Munashii wasn't a bad consolation prize.

"Sorry Deary, she hasn't been to this festival for... Valjean!" She turned to look at the man who had taken his leave once Nicoletta had begun to chat with the foreigner to continue working on finishing before the sun had completely set. He looked at her, pausing in his work and listened. "You remember the pretty lass you danced with each year for hours when you were younger? The one with the golden eyes? When was she last here for this festival?"

"Ah, the one before this new one with the same golden eyes? Damn, Nicoletta, she hasn't been 'round since forever. I think I was a young lad when she switched places with that _'Diablesa Loca'_ woman."

One of Rei's eyes twitched a bit at the passing mention of that moniker. She suddenly had a feeling that the person she had thought sent her this information wasn't actually the person who sent it. Damn that runt! She sent her here for some ulterior motive and she had a feeling it revolved around this festival. The timing was too good to be anything else.

"But how long ago?" She emphasized wanting an actual time.

"Twenty-five or so. Though that doesn't mean she never comes here, just that she hasn't been here during the festival."

"Thank you Valjean!" The woman turned her head to look back at Rei. "If Nanami is here, she didn't let me know. Or she might have, but I may have been working when she did. But the lady is very good at remembering to also make mention to my assistant, Blitzen. He's better at all that than me."

"Truth be told, I don't think I've met a dragon yet that could actually properly tell time." Rei couldn't help but joke, earning a snigger from the woman. The people of the city were far enough out of earshot that she felt that she could comfortably come out and call the woman what she was.

"What!? _She's_ the dragon?" Chopper had not been sure what was going on, so, because he was shy around strangers he didn't know, he had kept quiet while Rei socialized.

"Not what ye expected, hmmm?" She gave a twirl on one foot like a practiced dancer, her long skirt flowing around her and the heavy round beads that dangled near the hem of her skirt jingled a bit, even glowing a gentle purple as she did so. She stopped gracefully and gave a low bow as she kept eye contact with the talking reindeer. "I am Nicoletta Klaus the Toymaker. Please to make your acquaintance little reindeer."

The reindeer shook his head, his words lost in his shock. Indeed this woman was nothing like what he thought of when Rei had announced that there was a dragon there. This woman, though rather strange in appearance with those eyes and her unusual personality, seemed kind, intelligent, and had yet to threaten them like he had expected.

"Klaus?" Rei was a little surprised at her having a surname. Most full blooded dragons didn't have one, or at least the ones she knew. They had titles, much like Nicoletta did, to set them apart from any other that may have the same name, but not a surname. That was a human thing, which Dragians complied with on some level.

"Yes." The woman smiled mysteriously at that, her fingers interlacing behind her back as she swayed to and fro. "It is something I picked up after spending a very _long_ time on this island. It helps me blend in better with the people, though they are well aware I am not a normal 'human being'."

"Isn't that dangerous? Don't you worry that they will get suspicious about what you are?" Rei knew that it was not in a Dragon's best interest to stay in one place too long, lest they get discovered. That's why the most successful Dragians tribes were broken into small caravans and they never stayed in one place too long for someone to notice the lack of age. It's not like they didn't age at all, but their lifespans were significantly longer than an average human's.

"Not really." Nicoletta shook her head without the slightest concern. "As I have said, I have been here so long that they've come to their own conclusions about me. Their ancestors thought I was some sort of sorceress and though I kept telling them that it wasn't magic but science, they never seemed to change their opinion of wot they thought I was." She tsked as she thought about that, crossing her arms in her slight annoyance. "Even now, I keep trying to explain it to the children that I am not _magic_ and that everything I do is _science_ at its rawest, but they never seem to listen."

"To them you probably _are_ magic. Have you seen your eyes? If I didn't know better, that would make me think that either you were a devil fruit user or someone who understood Old Magic."

"Old Magic isn't used anymore." The Void dragon rebuked her, but did not argue its past existence. "It's been forgotten and so it's not an accurate conclusion to come to, my dear."

"Nicoletta!" Someone shouted from over by the clocktower. "Are you coming to help us with the maintenance before tonight or are you going to forget?"

"Oh shit." Nicoletta turned and called out. "Coming! Give me a half of a tick-tock and I'll be right up to make sure everything is in working order."

"Is this a tick-tock of this clock or _your_ clock?"

"It seems I am needed. Come enjoy the festival tonight. It is a very special event and will show ye exactly what science can accomplish if one knows how to use it properly." Nicoletta had a mysterious gleam in her eyes and a playful smile on her lips.

"It was nice to make your acquaintance," Rei bowed her head. "And we will definitely come to the festival. I don't think my captain would forgive me if we missed it after all this."

"Good. It is always good to have a man like that present. It brings all the more peace to my mind." She cryptically remarked before turning and jogging away. "So _wot_ was that about _my_ clock there, Jeremiah?"

Chopper and Rei watched as she made her way over to the clocktower before the two of them looked at each other and smiled. It seemed that there was nothing to worry about in terms of the dragon and them being on her territory. Though Rei was slightly disappointed to discover that Nanami was not there, Nicoletta was definitely interesting and the festival was becoming more and more interesting as well.

"Well, I guess we should head over to the tavern to meet up with everyone?" Rei spoke as she slowly turned about as searched for the familiar life signatures of her nakama that she had become greatly attune to during her time with them.

"I hope Sanji didn't lose Zoro. I would hate if we had to go find him and waste time we could be spending having fun. I noticed a few stands that had games." Chopper mentioned.

"I bet Usopp would love to go and win some prizes for you."

"What about you?"

"I think I might run around a bit with Zoro. I _did_ leave him with Sanji all day and I _may_ have convinced our dear chef to make sure to hold Zoro's hand so as to not lose him, so I _might_ have a few things to make up to him for."

"I don't know who I feel worse for- Sanji, Zoro, or Brook in this case..." Chopper could only imagine the bickering between the two that had taken place with something like that added to the flames of their distaste for each other.

"Brook definitely." Rei gave her reply. "But he also tried to flip my skirt earlier today in an attempt to see my underwear, so I have little sympathy for his plight."

"Well," Chopper wasn't sure what to say to that, so he switched topics as he gave her a forced grin. "At least we can tell Nami that Nicoletta is very nice and won't eat her."

"Yes, there is _that_." Rei nodded before she glanced down so her eyes met Choppers, a sly smile reaching her lips as she thought of something. "Race you to the tavern?"

Though he wasn't exactly sure where it was, he quickly agreed. "You're on!"

Just as he said that, Rei took off at full speed, leaving the reindeer in her wake until he got over his surprise and galloped after her. "Hey! That's cheating!"

"It's not cheating! It's gaining a tactical advantage over someone with four legs!" She corrected as she kept running, humor obvious in her voice.

With that, the two of them sped off to spend time with their friends now that the sun had set and the holiday lights were turned on and the entire village was finally beginning to celebrate its winter festival.

~...~

"I _said_ I was sorry." Rei said in an unapologetic tone. She was honestly trying not to burst out laughing at the pissed off expression of her current companion as the two of them walked down the street hand in hand. He had finally gotten around to telling her why he had looked so positively livid while Sanji had looked extremely uncomfortable when they all had met up at the tavern.

They had all collaborated there to eat before breaking up into groups once more to enjoy the festival. As they all shared stories of how their days went, Nami and Robin had found out some interesting lore about the island from their local library after they had shopped to their hearts content, while Luffy and his group had had a short run in with the Toymaker and had gotten to see her toy store. Luffy's eyes were shining as he told them all about the toy her assistant had let them watch. Even Rei and Chopper, to Nami's great relief, told of their encounter with Nicoletta and confirmed that she was not threatened by their presence and eating them was the furthest thing from her mind, in fact, she asked them to enjoy.

However, despite how everyone else had been willing to share what happened during their time, Sanji and Zoro stayed quiet and Brook looked too anxious and fearful of both of them to even utter a peep about it other than that they accomplished their tasks. So, once the groups had been decided, Nami having agreed to soothe Sanji's nerves by tolerating his behavior and assumptions that they were _possibly_ going on a date, Franky along with Robin and Brook decided to hang out for a while and look at some of the odder stands while Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp all went to go play the games and win prizes.

That left Zoro and her as the last group and she wasn't about to argue. She, Perona, and Zoro were practically the best of friends and though her dear Gothic Lolita Bestie couldn't be there, it was nice to spend time with Zoro. It hadn't been _just_ the two of them since they had gotten back from their two year training and she missed it in ways she wasn't about to admit. The two of them had goofed off. They had been drinking competitively for a bit with other pirate crews and, of course, beat all their asses and won some spending money for the festival. They even broke up a few bar fights as a means to be _in_ fights without getting in trouble for _starting_ them. They took their time around the food stands, eating to help sober up. Though neither were really intoxicated, as swordsmen, they didn't like having their senses dulled too long. Shortly after they had eaten to their content, without worry about Luffy stealing their treats, they decided to meander about and share a little more about their days, which led to this very conversation that Rei was trying so hard to remain composed about.

"You _left_ him with instructions to _hold_ my damn hand all throughout the damn thing!" He grumbled, his face dusted pink as his eye twitched in his vexation. "Do you know how many bastards asked us how long we'd been..." He trailed off as he gritted his teeth together as his irritation spiked another level higher at the mere memory of it.

"How long you two have been _dating_ ~?" Rei finished for him, a laugh escaping despite her best efforts. It was just too damn funny.

"Gah!" Zoro shouted angrily at her words, trying to pry his hand out of hers. "It was all because of you and your damn instance that he hold my hand!"

She clung tightly as she pulled him closer, their shoulders bumping together as she managed to catch him off guard enough. "Okay, I'm sorry, but you get lost so fast, that it's the easiest way to keep track of you. I didn't realize people would make that assumption, okay? My brothers hold hands all the time, so I forgot that, outside Water 7, that people aren't use to such public display of friendly affection."

That seemed to appease his temper a bit as he gave her one of his usual grunts and allowed their arms to stay close enough to where she could press against him as they walked. To anyone who didn't know that she was simply an extremely tactile individual and thrived off of close contact with her friends and family, it would look like they were a couple, which, honestly, Zoro didn't mind too much. It kept men from flirting with her despite his active presence beside her- among _other_ things. On top of that, Rei was like a furnace and warded off the cold air by her presence, making him comfortable despite how much the temperature might have dropped once the sun had set.

Still he did throw in his final comment about the whole ordeal. "I don't get lost."

"Sure you don't Zoro, it's everyone else."

"It _is_!"

"Mmm _hmmm_. And every house, ship, castle, and kingdom you visit are all moving labyrinths."

" _Tch_ ," Zoro made the noise with his tongue, knowing that he'd never get her to stop with the condescending tone even as she agreed with him. Both Rei and Perona teased him relentlessly about his sense of direction and how he needed someone to hold his hand to keep him from wandering off. Though it pissed him off, he was slowly coming to realize that they might maybe be somewhat accurate. Sometimes. He chose to let it rest and return to focusing on the here and now. "So, how long does this festival run for?"

"It officially starts at midnight tonight and ends at midnight tomorrow." Female kenshi told him. "Think of this as the before party- to get people excited for the countdown at midnight."

Zoro grunted his affirmation that he understood what she was saying and glanced at the tall clock tower to check the time. "It's nearly midnight. Are we meeting up with the others or are we all responsible for our own decisions?"

"We never _made_ plans, but I am guessing Luffy wants us to all conglomerate, if him waving at us from over there like that gives me any clue." Rei pointed far ahead of them to where Luffy and the others were standing together in a pretty good location to where they could view the platform for when the festival began. The straw hatted teenager had apparently been keeping an eye out for them so that they all could enjoy the main event together before breaking up into smaller groups again -if they so wanted.

Zoro glared at Sanji who was nearly growling at him, but he was instantly distracted by Nami, who tugged at his hand and held it in order to avoid a fight so soon to the zenith of the festival. He was too enthralled by her actions to notice the black, preoccupied expression on her face as she looked about the crowds, trying to gauge what was going on. Rei tugged at Zoro to also remind him not to fight since Sanji had only been listening to what _she_ had asked of him. Zoro made a face, but relented as the two of them joined the others.

"Did you guys have fun?" Robin asked with a teasing smile.

"Yeah!" Rei laughed forcefully as she pulled her companion along. She knew what the woman had meant and kept her annoyance hidden under a mask of excitement, though she was sure that her eyebrow may have twitched. Zoro relented grudgingly but didn't make a single complaint. "Did you guys find anything interesting?"

"Plenty, but from what I've heard, this is going to be the most interesting part of the night." Robin grinned. They had been hearing so much about the event that occurred at midnight. But everyone was so tight lipped about it that they had yet figured out what would happen. "However, I did learn that it is called Chime's Eve, since it begins at the last chime of the clocktower as it strikes midnight."

"Hmm," Rei nodded. She turned and looked at her captain. "Did you guys win anything?"

"Usopp won a ton of things!" Luffy grinned from ear to ear, but then scowled, "But he won't share."

"That's because you _broke_ three of them!" Usopp shouted irritatedly at him. The first three prizes had been lost to Luffy's aggressive manhandling and he had really liked those too.

Chopper held up a toy that Usopp had given him to show to Rei. "Usopp got me this!"

It was a red stuffed dragon and Rei had to smile because she knew why Chopper was especially happy with the item. "That's wonderful. What are you going to name it?"

"Dragon Rei!" Chopper grinned childishly as he hugged it to him.

Rei laughed, but she wasn't entirely sure as to how she felt about that, seeing as it looked nothing like her in that form. But if it made Chopper happy, she wouldn't argue. It didn't look horrible, but rather cute so she wasn't to put out about it.

"Oi, it looks like the show is about to begin." Brook pointed at the platform where a lone figure now stood.

Rei had to squint a bit, but she easily recognized the red skirt from her earlier conversation and recognized the person as Nicoletta. She stood up there alone with her head down and eyes closed, waiting there for the ringing of the midnight hour to begin. The crowds all soon hushed as all their eyes fell to her form and even the outsiders quieted and watched with great interest, hoping to finally understand what this festival was all about.

It felt like a longer time than it really was, but soon the clock tower began to toll in the hour and without the assistance of any music, she began to dance. She twirled, twisted, turned, and spun on her heels, the hem of her skirt flowed outward at the motion and the, even from the distance that Rei stood from, she could see the bead that were sewn onto the bottom of the skirt began to glow a soft purple and pulse the more the bell of the clock tower chimed. Rei felt foolish for a moment when she realized that those beads were not actually glass or plastic, but dragon small orbs.

Nicoletta was activating her powers to accomplish something. Something _big_.

"What is going on?" Nami asked in a whisper as things became more and more intense around them. It wasn't just her looking nervous, but most of the outsiders as well. But only Rei's crew was privy to the information she was about to share.

"Remember that dragon we talked about earlier?" Rei asked the young woman rhetorically. "Well that's her."

" _That's_ the dragon lady?!" Nami nearly shouted.

"The funny toymaker lady is a dragon?" Luffy's eyes practically sparked with excitement.

"What's she doing?" Chopper asked nervously. She had seemed so nice earlier, but now he was nervous because even he could feel the power pulsing from her the closer to the last bell ringing.

Nicoletta herself continued her dance, swaying and sweeping on her feet as her hands bent, curled, and flowed to the rhythm she had set for herself. Slowly Rei felt like she could hear a voice and a instrument as the dragoness continued to do the ceremonial performance. The citizens of the island, however, were now cheering and clapping to the faint beat that could be heard, completely unafraid of what was going on. At the final stroke of the bell tower, Rei looked up when she sensed something happening at the top of the bell tower. It started off small, crackling as it spread, and it felt almost as it the veil of space was tearing as the Toymaker continued to twirl and spin her well-practiced dance. There was a giddy smile on her face as she practically glowed with joy and elation, the small orbs on her dress glowing more and more and more.

Suddenly the light from the top of the tower began to shift from a dark color to more a deep purplish hue and it fluxed about until it turned a brilliant white before exploding and blinding the people temporarily. When Rei could blink away the floating spots from her eyes, she could only stare in awe as the sky was filled with brilliant stars far brighter and closer than usual. There was a slight film of the purple energy still surrounding them but soon it faded and the night sky was even brighter.

"This makes _no_ sense." Nami also noticed the stars and was panicking a bit. "All the constellations are off. That is suppose to be over there and that one..." She shook her head as she tried to get a control of her emotions and her thoughts.

"Uh... Nami... That's not all..." Usopp stared beyond Nicoletta's dance and pointed in complete awe.

All the Mugiwaras stared with a mix of shock and awe, Luffy nearly squealing in his excitement. For where once the city ended at the cliff of the island, now stood what could practically be a mirror image of the city they stood in now. The people over there looked to be just as unaffected by the phenomenon as the ones on their side. The two groups greeted each other like they were all old time friends instead of panicking over the strange occurrence.

"Well, they weren't lying." Robin finally commented, a mischievous smile on her face. "This is definitely something we'd never forget. How exciting~!"

Rei could only nod in agreement, unable to find her voice at such a powerful display of the dragon's mastery over her elemental qi. What science could accomplish _indeed_.

* * *

Glossary:

 _Qi_ \- Life energy

 _Dragian_ \- Dragon Chronicle term for half-breeds

 _Munashii_ \- Void

 _Denkou_ \- Lightning

 _Mizu_ \- Water

 _Fuzei_ \- Air

 _Kasai_ \- Fire

 _Aisu_ \- Ice

 _Kaze_ \- Wind

* * *

(A/N: Volleys-chan) Yatta! It has been truly an honor to write this with one of my favorite authors! I was absolutely nervous when I first suggested this to her (who wouldn't be when you admire someone's work above your own?!), but I have had a ton of fun working with her, though, let me tell you, it is a little tricky to write when someone lives on the opposite side of the world. We had to time things rather oddly, but thankfully I have a swing shift and that made it a little easier at times... and harder at others, but, do let me say, if I were to be honest, neither I nor BloodyMarryMe were probably expecting it as long as it has become! XD But we are having waaay to much fun with it!

It was also super interesting to write Rei at this point in her life, since I am still slowly working my way through her childhood, which at this point she's 14. I keep thinking I'll know how she'll turn out, but the more Ryu-chan and I plot out her life, the more she changes and surprises me. When we first started, Rei had nearly a different personality, but through each chapter and each plot point we've already planned out, she changes and matures and this is the culmination of what she's become in our mind's eye so far. So I hope we conveyed her well. I needed the entirety of this chapter just to help relay to the readers her relationships with the other Strawhats! Lol, but she's going to show even more sides to herself once she comes in contact with the Hearts! ;P You all should pity Law though... or laugh at his impending misery! XD

Again, thank you BloodyMarryMe for giving me this wonderful opportunity to write a collaboration with you. I've had a blast writing with you! Ryu-chan wishes she could have been apart of this too, but home life has been pretty busy for her. But she'll be happily cheering us on with her own reviews since I had almost completely kept her in the dark to most of this story!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoy this treat from both BloodyMarryMe and I as much as we had writing it~!


	3. Chapter 3

A collaboration story by **Volleys-chan** and **BloodyMarryMe**

 **Disclaimer** : We do not own One Piece or any of its characters.

A/N (BloodyMarryMe): Hey everyone, the third chapter is out and we're making quite fast progress through this story! Stay tuned for the next chapter that will be out pretty soon. I want to thank everyone for your kind reviews! There's been a gitch these couple of days so we couldn't answer you, but it's fixed now so we can finally reply.

* * *

 **Adventure on Snowflake Island**

Instead of the view of the ocean that spread before them only moments ago, now a whole other part of the town stood that fit perfectly with the West side where the Heart pirates docked. The said pirates still stood there like gaping statues while the crowd of locals started shuffling and chatting around them, greeting the people from the other side.

Finally, Miyako managed to focus her dazed vision again and she turned her head to watch the stage the locals had built previously. She didn't know what just happened exactly, but had a distinct suspicion that the town bard had something to do with it. It was after he started playing his lute that the strange occurrence washed over them and the energy seemed to be flowing out of him specifically. One more notch of mystery on the already enigmatic man. That's when the samurai realized something odd; he wasn't alone anymore. Even though seconds ago Hisui was the only one standing on the platform while performing, now there was another person by his side; a woman. She danced gracefully as Hisui played the last notes of his melody until the song was finished. He was panting a bit, paler than usual and his eyelids looked heavy as if he was about to double over from exhaustion. Even so, the smile was never brighter on the man's face. It was an expression Miyako never saw him make until now. It made the Wano girl wonder who this new arrival was and how was she connected to this whole shift that just occurred.

"I smell something familiar," Bepo brought her out of her thoughts as he broke the silence of confusion. He was staring at something straight ahead, looking through the crowd of people.

"Captain!" Cody, Joshua and most of the other Heart Pirates ran over to Law in emergency, as perplexed as the others.

"What's going on here?!" Penguin was staring around at the new-formed town.

"Should we…inspect?" As she said so, Miyako already took a step forward. She was curious to see the new side of the town.

Yet she was rudely stopped by someone pulling on her ponytail that made her flinch back in surprise. "Hold on!" Joshua's voice sounded stern, like an older brother stopping his mischievous sibling before they could do any damage. "We don't know anything yet so don't take any risks!"

"Don't yank me!" The girl swiftly turned around and punched him upside the head so he would let go of her hair.

"Ouch! Why you-" The redhead was just about to return the favor, already clenching his fist and glowering back at the girl, when the couple realized their captain passed them both by without giving them a second thought. They blinked in wonder, following the man with their inquiring gazes.

"Captain, wait," Shachi called after him when he saw the tall man moving through the crowd.

Trafalgar ignored them and proceeded on towards the town square that separated their known surroundings from the new ones. He stepped on the square's cobblestone, each step echoing beneath the hard soles of his boots. His trusted nodachi was still resting on his shoulder, just in case some danger arises.

Though, it wasn't danger that the captain of the Heart Pirates saw. It wasn't some new enemy that threatened them. No….it was something much worse. Law couldn't believe his grey eyes at what he was staring at on the other side of that square. A group of people he separated with only weeks before, and he hoped he wouldn't have to meet the troublesome bunch any time soon. And the most troublesome of them all was the young lad standing in front. As usual he had that ludicrous grin from ear to ear, with the straw hat steadily placed on his messy black hair. Law would recognize that face anywhere after everything they've been through together. Just that thought made the captain of the Heart Pirates freeze and his eye twitched, remembering how exasperated he was with handling that eccentric teen and his crew.

"That's why I smelled something familiar," Bepo exclaimed, trotting next to his captain. He was smiling when he noticed their old friends.

The rest of the Heart Pirates appeared completely astounded, unable to put together the pieces of the puzzle and make a logical picture of what they were experiencing. First, a whole new part of the town appeared, maybe even a whole part of the island from the looks of it, and new people just magically appeared before their eyes together with a group they knew very well. At that moment, all they could do was blurt out in surprise and unison, "Strawhats!?"

~…..~

The crew as a whole now turned their attentions from the stage where Nicoletta had finished her dance and practically hug tackled the man before her with a giddy grin. Rei could sense that she was completely exhausted, possibly close to collapsing with how much energy she had expended on this amazing feat, but her happiness had filled her to the brim. No, not happiness, _love_. She could sense that Nicoletta _loved_ the man with all of her heart and Rei could feel the quiet thrums of qi that pulsed from her as she was reunited with him. However, the moment that their crew's name was called, all ten of them snapped their attention over to these newcomers… No, not newcomers.

"Tora-o!" Luffy shouted with glee as he practically bounced over to the taller pirate captain, oblivious to any sort of expression of dread that had overcome the dark doctor, and gave him a Luffy-styled bear hug, crushing the man in his excitement. "I thought you were going under the covers for a while.."

" _Undercover,_ " All his crew mates corrected for possibly the umpteenth time as they came up from behind Luffy, having realized who their captain was happily greeting.

"Shishishi, yeah! _That_! You said you needed some time in the underworld-y place with your angel person's contacts to get more info on Kaito-"

"Kai _do_!" They corrected once more. Nami was rolling her eyes and Usopp was massaging his forehead at the whole thing, only Robin was laughing at her captain's misinterpretation. Law hadn't _needed_ to go with Angel. The assassin could have easily done all that alone, but Law wanted to get _away_ from Luffy for a while. Rei said nothing, instead she stared in quiet apprehension while she discreetly tucked herself behind Franky's much taller and broader form. Not from shyness, Rei was most definitely _not_ shy, but she wanted to have the chance to observe the Hearts without interruption. There was something about this Law that seemed _off_ to her. Bepo too.

She had _almost_ run up to greet Bepo when Law had made himself known to receive her usual hug, but the polar bear seemed completely unaware of her, which he _never_ was. He was always ready to give her a big brother bear hug, but now he was simply staring at them; practically looking right through her like he didn't _know_ her. Also, she couldn't sense Leon. After the disaster of Dressarossa, the young strategist knew wherever Law was, Leon would be very close behind. So, where _was_ Leon? In fact, now that she was looking at these people who had followed him… Where was his usual entourage? Angel, Oz, Janette, Leon, Elias, or Ambros? Hell, where was Poe? The battle-torn raven should have been on his usual perch upon Law's shoulder. Shachi and Penguin along with Bepo were around, but...

"Yeah, yeah, Kaido!" Luffy grinned, completely unfazed by the fact that he had messed up both very important facts _again._ The younger captain still crushing the other to his lean frame as if it was the most natural position to be in with him, but then again, Rei supposed, Law had been slung over Luffy's shoulder for the majority of Dressarossa. He didn't wait for an answer as he noticed the young woman close by with yellow eyes, a plaid coat, and a single sword- one like what Zoro and Rei used. "Who's that?" He paused as his face scrunched a bit in confusion as he noticed the redhead and the bluehead as well. Both were wearing the standard boiler suits that Law's crew was known for wearing, actually there were a lot of them with the same suit, but... "Who are they?"

Besides the initial confusion that came from seeing the least expected crew on this island, the Heart Pirates found themselves even more perplexed than before. Now not only did the Strawhats' appearance make absolutely no sense, but most of what they were saying didn't either.

"Oy, Strawhat, stop clinging all over Captain," Joshua exclaimed in irritation, seeing how disrespectful the boy was being. He knew Luffy meant no harm by it, but he also knew Law was slowly losing his patience, and when Law was in a bad mood, it was his crew who paid for it.

Law furrowed his eyebrows while he tried to peel the clingy boy off of himself. Strawhat often babbled nonsense in his opinion, but this time the man couldn't understand a word he was saying. "Ang-? _Who_!?" He would have thought the younger captain was messing with him, but the boy wasn't such an elaborate sort. He appeared genuine enough, although confusing. "I told you we should separate until we find out where Kaido's base was, lest we draw too much attention and become an easy target for his men. Have you lot already forgotten everything we planned?!" If this was some kind of joke, he wasn't enjoying it.

The samurai girl was more concerned about something entirely different. She kept staring at the girl who stood with the Strawhats, although hiding behind Cyborg Franky. Both of them must be mirroring the same confused expression, because she appeared just as puzzled as Miyako felt. She inspected the dark-haired woman, with skin tanner than hears and the most engaging red eyes. Perhaps it was ironical for the samurai to be so compelled by them, considering many found her eyes strange as well, but she was still intrigued by the peculiar appearance of the girl. She was about to ask about the new member of the Strawhats when the pirates' words brought her back from her thoughts.

"Eeeh?" Most of the Hearts gaped at the question.

"What do you mean, ' _Who are we'_? I can't believe you already forgot about us. That's too fast even for you, Strawhat," Cody sighed, a bit offended that nobody seemed to remember him from their crew.

Miyako scrunched her nose in suspicion, placing her hands on her hips. "Luffy-san, did this strange phenomena affect your memories or something? It's me, Miyako!" She then glanced at the one person in the Strawhat crew she couldn't recognize, "And when did you get a new crew member?"

Luffy furrowed his brow, still clinging to the struggling captain, unwilling to let go of his newest best friend just yet. His lips turning downward as his face slowly turned into a scowl as he stared at the young woman. "Miya-who? I don't know you." He scooted away from her, dragging Law away with him as he continued to repeat the many questions that had been thrown at the simple minded captain. "New crew member? What are you weirdos talking about? That's Rei! She's _been_ on my crew. Law should know! We've all been the best of friends since Punk Hazard!"

Now Nami was slowly coming to a realization that something was wrong, especially since Rei was on edge and, normally, she would be exchanging verbal jabs at the other captain by this point. Usopp and Chopper were scooting closer to their stronger members in case these people decided to attack them. Robin had figured it out a while ago, that something was off, but she remained quiet in an attempt to try to understand the strange phenomenon. It must have been sometime during the event.

Sanji, however, had hearts in his eyes as he stared at the woman before him. She was slightly smaller than Rei was when the other woman wasn't wearing her heels, but she was beautiful. He quickly made his way over to her, grabbing one of her hands as he got down on one knee and began to speak his usual prose. "Oh beautiful fair maiden with the midnight locks of silken hair, I do not know how you came to be yet another beautiful woman upon Law's crew, but may I say that your eyes are like two topaz, glittering and shining in the reflection of tonight's lights."

"Oi. Don't mind the dartboard brow. He does this to anyone with a skirt." Zoro spoke up, rolling his eyes at the usual behavior of the love sick chef.

Sanji quickly spun around and stood upright, forgetting about the woman temporarily, to openly glare at the swordsman. "I do not _pursue_ anyone with a skirt. Just beautiful women! Fair maidens. Angels of the fairer sex!"

Zoro smirked tauntingly. "That's not what I heard."

"Die you Marimo!" Sanji was surrounded by flames of fury as he openly attacked the ready swordsman. Both seemed to pretty much forget about the situation as they bickered once more.

"What does he mean _'yet another woman on our crew'_ anyway?" Joshua commented to the other Heart Pirates in confusion. "Miyako is the only one. I know Sam can seem a bit girly at times, especially with his glasses off, but-"

"You shut up!" The mentioned mechanic glared at the redhead though his glasses.

The other just shrugged, equally puzzled as the medic. Everything appeared upside down and all over the place at the moment.

"Miss," Brook finally took a step forward, bowing at the waist as he continued to speak. "May I see your panties?"

" _No_!" Nami raged, smacking the skeleton in the skull before Miyako could do anything. "Can you two _not_ do this every damn time there is a new woman for you to harass?!" Nami turned an apologetic smile towards Miyako, her eyes momentarily flickering to all the other Hearts visible, almost like she was extending what she was about to say to all of them. "I don't really know what's going on, but sorry, they're incorrigible."

Rei watched, still trying to figure out what was going on. She flicked her eyes over to where Nicoletta was and wondered if it was something to do with the fact that this group came from the western half of the island that had appeared while they had been standing on the eastern half. For now, she slowly walked out from behind Franky and stood next to Nami, joining the conversation. She was definitely interested in the girl all her crewmates seemed to be drawn to. Her eyes were yellow, but Rei couldn't sense that she was anything like Nicoletta or herself. She was a human, but her eyes were a rich yellow, but not as iridescent and illuminating as Nanami's, Gin's, or Midori's.

"We're not friends, we're allies. I told you that hundreds of times already," Law struggled to break free from Luffy, slowly losing his temper. He had no intention of admitting he liked the boy even a little in any shape or form. He could already imagine the disaster _that_ would cause if Strawhat heard it and misunderstood, getting even more clingy and friendly with him. The doctor shuddered at the thought.

"That's enough Strawhat!" Now even Bepo joined the struggling tangled form of the two captains, trying to separate them by grabbing Luffy by the shoulders and pulling him away. At least he tried to, but that only caused the boy's rubber limbs to stretch, still clinging to the older captain like his life depended on it.

In the end, it took Shachi, Penguin and Bepo to pull before they managed to break the boy off, falling to the ground in one tangled mess that left the three Hearts groaning in annoyance, and the Strawhat laughing without a care.

Meanwhile, Miyako's experience wasn't much better as she was left with dealing with the love cook of the crew, who treated her as if they just met for the first time. Even Nami looked at her like they were strangers, even though not even two months prior to this the navigator woman called her Miya-chan and dragged her to bathe with her every night. "I know…I had a similar experience the first time we met," the samurai whispered with confusion, though she realized the woman wouldn't remember that either. Still, she was almost impressed at how unchanged the Strawhats were in their personalities, to the point where they will obviously have the same reactions each time they meet Miyako; Sanji will become all flustered and try to flirt with her, Zoro will make a snarky remark on that fact and start a fight with the cook, Brook will want to see her panties and Nami will end up sorting the whole mess by kicking the shit out of everyone. A trickle of sweat flowed down Miyako's neck from the thought. Her focus was quickly reverted back to the group when she saw the new girl move and Miyako's eyes darted in her direction questioningly as the other stepped forward. She was still a bit wary of the red-eyed alien, but she presumed if the Strawhats were comfortable around her then surely she is also an ally.

Cody sighed, "There is obviously something strange going on around here and I bet it has something to do with this weird light that just flashed through the entire island." As he talked, he gave Shachi a hand and helped him up, while Josh did the same to Penguin. Bepo and Luffy were still left struggling on the ground, trying to entangle their limbs from each other, which was particularly hard when one of them had arms and legs that could curl around an entire body.

"But what's going on?!" Penguin was becoming impatient with this whole mess. "Why can we remember some of the people, but not the others? It makes no sense!" He gave a desperate look to his mechanic friend, but Shachi could only shrug in return. They were both equally clueless, just like the rest of them.

"Perhaps, we can help you with that explanation," a new voice broke their conversation and everyone stared at the couple who drew closer to them.

Hisui and Nicoletta stood side by side, gazing back at the confused pirates.

"Hisui-san and…?" Miyako gazed back at the woman in front of her. If she thought the other girl's red eyes were mysterious, then this woman's eyes were entirely enchanting. They were both dark and colorful, glowing and ever-changing just like the universe. She thought she could see entire constellations if she gazed deep enough into them. The girl gasped, completely taken aback by the beautiful sight.

"I knew he had to have something to do with this," Joshua exclaimed in a growl, suspiciously glaring at the other redhead.

However, all glares seemed to just slide off of Hisui as always. He was completely unaffected by it, only scratching the back of his head and smiling apologetically with a nervous gaze. "Yes well...I can't deny that. It's the zenith of our winter festival, after all. The most important event."

As he said that, he glanced back at the woman by his side, his expression becoming gentle and loving as soon as he laid his eyes on her. They locked silent gazes for a while, before another voice interrupted them.

"So what exactly happened? Explain this." Trafalgar's voice had a harsh tone as he ordered them to speak. He was hating this feeling of being confused and ignorant of what was happening around him. It made him feel like he didn't have control over the situation, something he hated even more. Luffy's antics from earlier didn't help his mood either. The older captain had to fix his crumpled attire and fallen hat after he finally pushed the boy off with the help of his crew.

"It is a story from long ago. One of both love and loss," Hisui started. "We found each other while investigating this very phenomena, although it was nothing like this at the time. Long ago, Nicoletta and I both realized there are other dimensions…other worlds, similar yet different than our own. They were all like timelines that existed parallel, but would never cross each other's paths…never intertwine. That is, until we got to this island. We soon realized that Snowflake island had a crack between two such worlds…a crack in a time-space continuum. With our unique powers, together we were the only ones who could manipulate that crack and see to the other side…that's how we met. As years passed, we studied more and more about the other's world and soon found a way to spread the crack through this whole island, and merge the two worlds for just one day. The townspeople were suspicious at first, but soon they came to accept this phenomena and it became a special day when the Snowflake island, that was destroyed a long time ago by an ancient weapon, can once again be whole. And as for us…," the bard took Nicoletta's hand in his own. "It was one day of each year that we could be together. I missed you, my love." He gave her a smile, his amber eyes sparkling with happiness.

"And I, ye, my dearest." The woman smiled before tightening her grip on his hand, their fingers knitted together as they stared at each other's eyes.

"So, this is what you were hinting at." Rei finally spoke, taking a step closer towards the pair. Her eyes focused on Nicoletta as she verbally relayed her understanding of the situation. "So _this_ Heart crew is completely different than our own, which is why we don't recognize most of them. Law took a different path in this parallel universe and met different individuals." She had once had this very conversation with Midori and the small woman had conveyed such theories with her. While Rei was fascinated by her words, no one else really took her seriously. Midori wasn't entirely _sane_ all the time, but she was utterly brilliant. Her brow furrowed though as she glanced at Bepo and Luffy. "But what about the ones we do recognize? How come some of them are the same and others are different?"

"Some people are required to progress the anchor points which line up in multiple universes." Nicoletta explained. "There are some events that cannot be changed, but there are details that can be… Hmmmm, let's call it, edited or perhaps even are subjective to interpretation in the course of the world's events. In our world, _we_ exist, but in Hisui's world, our kind do not exist in the same way, causing it that ye'd never have been born. Some people escape that fate, due to being attached to anchor points, but others do not."

"I see," Rei mulled over that, her lips pulling into a frown at her conclusion. Dragons didn't exist the same way, meaning Dragians didn't. So that meant that Law never met Nanami and she never took him under her wing as her ward, thus he never met Leon or her. They didn't become sworn siblings alongside the others. There was a pain in her chest at the thought that Law had suffered alone, knowing how much her brother had struggled with his heartache even with them there. She glanced at Law with a somber expression, reminding herself that he at least had Bepo to stay by his side when Leon, Nanami, and she couldn't. "So though we might _feel_ like we know each other (or at least some of each other), we don't."

"I don't get it." Luffy frowned, pointing to Law. "Torao is right there. He's Torao."

Nami sighed rather exasperatedly and was about to _try_ to explain it, but Rei held up a hand signaling she'd take care of it. "Luffy. That _is_ Torao, but he's a _different_ Torao than ours. He's from the mystery side of the island, so he's Mystery Torao, but we'll call him Torao since our Torao isn't here, okay?"

"Ah~!" Luffy crossed his arms and nodded like he actually understood. "A mystery. Gotcha." With that, he turned his attention back to Bepo and began to hug the fuzzy polar bear mink. "Mystery Bepo~!" The poor bear was wrestling the energetic boy once more to try to pry the teenager off of _him_.

All of the Heart Pirates listened carefully to Nicoletta and Hisui. They mulled over each word curiously, trying to make sense of what was happening around them. The chatter of the townsfolk and other pirates around them was no more than mere murmur to them now, simply background noise, while they concentrated on the bizarre events developing before them. Around them, the other pirate crews also stopped panicking, as the locals explained to them what the toymaker and the bard were explaining this instant to the Hearts and the Strawhats.

Rei turned to send a professional expression at Law. "That's the best I can do. He'll still bother you, but he does understand you are not our world's Law, so there are boundaries he shouldn't cross. Hopefully for you, he might not hug you as hard… _Might_. Luffy is pretty handsy when he likes someone. And he likes Law." _Not sure why, because Law is a ghoulish ass._ She thought but purposely left out.

The Hearts' captain sighed as he watched Bepo complain about the dark-haired boy who was now snuggling against him contently, remarking how warm his fur was. He listened to Rei's words, almost sweatdropping at how simplified her explanation to Luffy was about this event; however, he knew only something like that could truly sate the boy and make him understand. At least she seemed to have a knack for handling him, something Law still struggled with sometimes. He frowned, glancing between Strawhat and the woman. He will have to make do with what he got, finally free from the younger captain at least. "Well…I suppose I appreciate it," he muttered. Though he could do _without_ the continuous 'Torao' nickname. His eyebrow still twitched in reflex every time he heard it. Alas, by now he realized there was no use complaining and getting frustrated about it anymore. Even so, a part of him dreaded that he even got that blasted nickname in a whole other world, as if it was branded on him no matter where or who he was.

He found it hard to believe in everything these two had said, a part of him still suspicious that this was some kind of elaborate scheme…some kind of trap laid out for them. But what would they gain from it? He was a man of science, of empirical study and the facts of what he was seeing were clear as day even if he wanted to deny them. The woman herself said this wasn't magic, but science. That thought only made the scholar in him more curious. There was no point in rejecting something that was right before his eyes, anyway. So instead, he should adjust accordingly and inspect the situation, that is what he decided.

"Wait, so some of us exist in the other world and some of us don't? How is _that_ fair!?" Joshua crossed his arms on his chest as he scowled.

"Heh, I guess some of us are just more important," Penguin grinned proudly, his nose high in the air as this new revelation stroked his ego. Joshua rolled his eyes at the mechanic. Yeah, like _that's_ what Penguin needed, as if his confidence needed any more boosts.

"Perhaps we do exist in the other world, but we just never met Captain. Our paths are different there," Cody suggested with a shrug, mostly to try and comfort his friend.

"I suppose there's something comforting in knowing that even though these aren't exactly _our_ friends, their personalities aren't that much different. It makes me a bit at ease, thinking we can trust them anyway," Miyako smiled as she watched Luffy playfully snuggle against the polar bear who was whining against it. It wasn't that different from how _their_ Luffy treated Bepo. Then something occurred to her and she looked back at Nicoletta and Hisui, "But if there are people whose paths stayed the same in every world…It sounds like their destiny was already written out for them. That they will go down the same path, no matter what?"

Penguin shuddered at the thought, "I don't want that! It's like we can't change our fates!"

Shachi was right beside him, glancing from his Captain to the Strawhat. "Right, that would suck!"

Rei turned to inspect the young woman with new eyes as the others conversed, only half listening to their lament of fate. No longer trying to understand the odd phenomena of her having such yellow eyes without showing the signs of being a Dragian. She noted a few things, including the katana, how it was handled, the girl's natural posture, her calloused hands, the silken ribbon in her hair, and how she had previously spoken. A Wano girl. No, a _samurai_ , the young strategist surmised.

Rei bowed at the waist in the manner that had been taught to her when initially addressing someone from Wanokuni, giving the young woman a polite greeting. "Since it is obvious that I have never met you and you me, despite you recognizing the others in my crew, may I properly introduce myself. I am Yokoyama Rei of Water 7. Pleasure to make your acquaintance - Miyako, wasn't it?"

Meanwhile, Miyako was frowning at the thought as she was still mulling over their conversation topic, wondering what kind of life the Law from the other world had. Did it mean his past was equally painful in their world too? Was it really no other way for him to live than what the stars had already written out? It seemed awfully unfair to her that there was no world in which Law could have grown up as an average adult, a simple doctor, who lived in his lovely White Town together with his family. A world in which he never lost his family, never got sick, or never met Doflamingo. She unconsciously stared at her captain in thought until she heard a shuffling of feet in snow. She glanced with interest at the girl around her age, as she approached her before starting to introduce herself. Miyako was a bit surprised that the girl gave her a courteous bow that one does in Wanokuni. She wasn't used to it unless people were actually from Wano, so it made it obvious that this one knew of their customs at least. In Wanokuni, the depth of the bow, much like a lot of subtle gestures in their culture, had a meaning. It was different to bow to someone of a highly respectable position who was more important in society than yourself or to your peer. Most of the outsiders never pick up on that unless they are specifically taught about it, yet this girl showed a perfect stance in her bow as she introduced herself. Miyako doubted it was coincidental, making her believe that this girl was somehow connected to Wano or at least someone who thought her their customs. As it would be highly disrespectful not to respond, the samurai bowed equally low, with a polite smile to show her respect. "The pleasure is mine. Indeed, I am Suzune Miyako of Wano country." She slowly erected, meeting the girl's eyes. "I am impressed by your knowledge of our ways in Wanokuni," she noted.

Rei stood back up into her usual perfect posture. Her eyes crinkling with mirth and fondness at the thought of the individual responsible for her knowledge of Wanokuni, but was distracted by the Toymaker's words, seeing as she was very interested in the whole theory of it. Nicoletta was a full-fledge adult dragon, and the young drake knew that this wisdom came from years and years of study and understanding.

"It's not like fates _cannot_ be altered," Nicoletta corrected the two mechanics. "Deaths and such _can_ be avoided, but nature would require _balance_ in return for altering any anchor event. If one city was spared, then another would be consumed by tragedy in an equal or more potent affair than the first event. One never knows the outcome of meddling with the timeline, but never is there a path that is without heartache of some type." Nicoletta shook her head. "Ah, but listen to me jabber on and on about theoretical physics and paradoxes. Wot I am trying to explain is that though there are anchor points that attach the parallel dimensions together, some of them shift and change as they move from dimension to dimension and perhaps the anchors that hold these two universes together are not the same as the ones that hold others to each other."

Hisui chuckled as his love continued to explain the parallel universes in a vortex of words and explanations. "Nicoletta always gets so caught up when talking about the nature of the worlds, especially this study we observed together. She could probably go on for hours, which she actually has done more than once." Even as he said that, the man didn't look irritated by it, just the opposite, he found it endearing. Just like she could talk so passionately about all the theories coming from their data, Hisui could stay and listen to her for just as long.

"Very interesting." Robin finally spoke up. "So, perhaps, would it be possible that someone's parents in this universe are different in the other?"

"Yes," Nicoletta nodded. "I have observed it on this island from time to time, but usually they play a bigger role that can only be fulfilled by that person, not to say that there is any such thing as an unimportant person, but it falls again to anchor points that _must_ happen. But sometimes details like parentage, siblings, homeland, weapons, and even people's connections to one another are changed or slightly different."

"That's for sure." Rei couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing Law without Leon freaked her out a bit. In fact, without Nanami raising him, Law probably didn't have a background as being a gypsy child either or even have received Kikoku from her, though she did note this one had the cursed blade as well. She would have to be careful with what she said around him as to not give away more than she wanted to about her close, sibling-like relationship with the pirate captain.

Law gave her a questioning expression in return with one of his eyebrows raised when he noticed the girl's stare on him. He had a feeling this one knew more about him than the other way around, and it gave him a small sense of caution. He was interested in this other Law and how much he was similar to himself. Perhaps this girl could answer some of those questions for him. Still, he didn't appreciate her smirking face directed at him, as if she knew all of his secrets, so the captain comforted himself with the notion that that was only the case for the other Law and had nothing to do with him.

"Right, Leon or Elias are usually somewhere nearby when Law's around." Nami commented, looking around in hopes to see at least the grumpy treasurer. "I was hoping since Law was here to at least team up with Elias for a couple card scams."

"You two and your money." Usopp shook his head as he let out a heavy sigh, Chopper nodding his head in agreement. The sniper was often drafted into at least one of these scams and usually had to be the guy to bail them out when people caught on, especially since Elias hated guns.

"If you're talking card scams, I'd say these two are perfect for your company then." Joshua sighed in response, pointing his thumb at the two head mechanics. Then realization hit him, "Actually scratch that…don't encourage them."

Shachi and Penguin both frowned in disappointment before the younger one spoke towards Nami with a slight blush, "Hey, we wouldn't have a problem with anything you'd want us to do, Nami~"

Shachi nodded vigorously in agreement.

Cody sighed and shook his head slowly, "You two are hopeless. You're turning into that blonde cook, you know."

"Oi!" Sanji took offense to that, but quickly and purposely Zoro distracted him once more. He knew that he was missing things in order to occupy the blonde cook, but he had already realized that the other women of Law's crew- all twelve of them- didn't exist in this world. The last thing he wanted to hear was him wail and lament that fact _in public_. Besides, Rei was there around to catch him up to speed on a level he understood. He might not been as stupid as Luffy, but he would at least internally admit that such things as science and physics and such went right over his head when it didn't do so with the young strategist.

"Shame Angel or Emi aren't here either. It's always fun to trade assassination techniques with the two of them." Robin also agreed.

"You three and your creepy hobbies!" Usopp, Chopper, _and_ Brook screamed at Robin, completely flustered by her remark, tears in their eyes from their fleeting fear.

The Hearts glanced at each other knowingly, hearing the dark-haired archaeologist speak. Bepo leaned towards the two mechanics and whispered, "No wonder the Robin from our world got along with Sai. Their minds are equally dark." The others just slowly nodded, staring at the woman with a bit of wariness in their eyes.

"Janette and Oz promised to go over my latest super awesome weapon schematic…" Franky sulked when he realized neither inventor/engineer would be available for such feats.

"You three and your outrageous weapons!" The three of them shouted, still flustered by Robin's earlier comment.

Rei laughed as she glanced at both Law and Miyako with a sheepish, lopsided grin. "We have a pretty good relationship with our world's Heart crew. I've known Pen and 'Chi since I was but fourteen. Leon and Cassiopeia since I was about fifteen as well as Bepo-kun. The only thing that puts a wedge in things between the Mugiwaras and Hearts is that Law is pretty intolerant of Luffy's antics and our usual pace. He could never understand how I can deal with it as easily as I do, but it's not like I don't usually go along with their pace."

The captain of the Heart Pirates frowned at that comment, seeing that the other Trafalgar obviously had similar problems as he did. "Even so…most of these names you mentioned mean nothing to me," he shrugged. It appeared that most of his crew in the other world was completely different from this one. "Though we do have _some_ things in common apparently," he muttered, sending a glare at the straw hat-wearing boy.

Miyako chuckled at her captain's mood, mostly amused by how out of character he was whenever Luffy was near. The man just couldn't handle the boy's antics and in the end got pulled along with the Strawhats' pace. However, she found that side of Law entertaining to watch as he struggled to keep his cool along this crazy crew that just wouldn't let him do so.

"I figured that you'd know _at least_ Leon. He met you- errr… _Law_ when _Law_ was… Thirteen? Fourteen?" It felt so weird to speak to this Law about her world's Law, especially since she kept wanting to use the 'you' pronoun, but she continued. "So if he wasn't here, then he probably never met you or possibly doesn't exist. Shame." Rei's eyes dimmed a bit at that particular thought. She decided to divulge a bit more, knowing that no matter _how_ he grew up, Law was very curious about things whether he admitted it or not. It was just who he was. "Though they are not related by blood, Leon's practically Law's older brother with how much he cares for him. He helped take care of him throughout the majority of his... _ailment_ until he was finally able to cure it with his powers. Him and one other person who was pretty detrimental to his survival after…" She trailed off, not sure if the young woman knew about it or if Law felt up to verbally speaking about the man just yet. Her brother still had a lot of healing to go through on that subject, though he was finally moving forward with it after so many years of letting it fester in his heart. She cleared her throat and pressed on with her explanation. "Though more like a parent than a sibling. In fact, I was hoping to find her here… But it seems my information was off a bit."

Law had to take a moment to process what he just heard from the girl. So the other him had some similar experiences in his past, but also a lot of differences in his life. He felt a little pang of hurt in his chest when Rei talked of his illness and stopped right before mentioning _his_ name. Even so, he could tell who she meant, meaning she knew about it. _*So the other Law also met Corazon in his past...and also lost him,*_ he thought grimly, suddenly feeling annoyed at his other self that he also didn't know better and was unable to do anything but watch his important person die. But the other Law met people who helped him. He healed and trusted once again, enough to even call them his family. For Trafalgar, that 'family' was right here in his crew, so in the end, he guessed both of them found what they needed. He glanced at the samurai by his side, locking his gaze with her troubled one momentarily. They talked about his past after the whole ordeal with Doflamingo and she now knew everything, which is why she was looking at him knowingly to observe his reaction to Rei's words. However, Trafalgar's healing process already started with Doflamingo's demise and he silently gave her a stare that said not to worry. He gave Rei a nod, signifying he understood what she was saying, but stayed silent to mull over her words.

Rei smoothed out her coat a bit before one of her gloved hands came to rest on the kashira of both her blades. She felt a little guilty for the mood, having not missed the quiet nuances between the two, so she tactfully changed the subject. "As for my knowledge of Wano's etiquette, my father had obtained a retainer from Wanokuni through some unusual means. He had actually liberated him from slavery after he won him in a card game with a Celestial Dragon my father had been forced to entertain while the other was staying at Water 7. Being as noble as the samurai was, he felt honor-bound to offer his blade to my father after being shown such kindness from a complete stranger. Apparently, he had been betrayed by his Daiyamou because the lord coveted his wife. However, my father definitely needed no protector, as he was a great swordsmaster unrivaled by any except for perhaps Dracule Mihawk, in my _personal_ opinion (though I am prone to be biased since he's my father). He decided to accept the man into our household to assist me with my own swordplay when he could not. He taught my brothers, sisters, and me some of Wanokuni's etiquette. Mostly enough not to offend others if we are forced to visit, especially me, since I am already rather an offensive notion to them."

The Wano samurai turned away from her captain when Rei spoke again, this time directing her explanation to her. She was surprised to hear that the girl had such skilled swordmasters as father and teacher, to the point that they could rival the greatest swordsman in the world. It just made the samurai girl more curious to learn more about this girl whose path, although different from hers, led her on a journey of becoming a kenshi just as Miyako's did. Actually, the more she spoke, the more Miyako's golden eyes glistened in excitement at the prospect of meeting another swordswoman. She hadn't met one since Tashigi, after all. What's more, she could see that Rei wielded two excellent katana, guessing the girl was using nitoryuu techniques. She felt a bit saddened by Rei's last words of being considered offensive, seeing as Miyako could easily sympathize. _*It seems some things never change in whichever world we live…the hardships of women kenshi are the same everywhere,*_ she scowled at the thought. However her mood soon improved as she smiled back at Rei, happy to meet a fellow swordswoman. She was just about to respond when a voice broke out through the town square, silencing everyone instantly.

"What a beautiful reunion!"

The voice was familiar to most of the Heart Pirates, and Hisui also recognized it, frowning a little. Nicoletta picked up on his mood and frowned as she glanced at him in confusion, though she was tensing a bit, before she was moving her head every which way as she tried to locate the source. Zoro and Sanji quit their fighting, while those on the Strawhat crew who had weapons gripped them, ready for anything, seeing as those words in that tone often led to trouble.

People of the town all searched for the cause of the booming voice with their gazes, until they noticed seven figures standing on the platform where Hisui and Nicoletta previously stood. The townsfolk seemed confused by the sudden change of events, but the Hearts only tensed as they glared at the new arrivals, already expecting trouble since captain Murdock was involved.

Besides him, the other members of the crew were standing next to him, with a few new ones that were unfamiliar. They recognized the red fishman shark, Brill, the large axe-wielding pirate Glenavon who now had a bandage wrapped around his head, Kamui 'The Monk' who was chanting something once again and the skinny androgynous person, Ebbie. However, there were two more with them this time; an old, hunched fellow who couldn't even stand right as he swayed lightly, and a cloaked figure with a dark hood that prevented from seeing any features of the person.

As he got everyone's attention, Captain Murdoch continued, "We are so happy to have witnessed such a spectacular event on this island." His grin never faded as two hungry eyes kept staring towards Nicoletta and Hisui. "Unfortunately, we'll be changing the festival's program a bit."

As he said that, the man took out something from his pocket and pressed a button. In the next instant, everything became white as a deafening noise echoed throughout the town.

The ground beneath the town square started to explode in some places as if bombs were dug deeply beneath it, waiting for the man's signal to go off. Screams and crumbling of stone and ice ripped through the sky as chaos ensued, people trying to run away desperately.

The ground beneath the pirates' feet exploded, sending them flying and crashing into the snow.

~…..~

When Miyako opened her eyes again, she was disoriented and confused, a sharp noise shrilling in her ears. She realized she was on the ground, so she tried to get up on her hands, gazing around her. People were passing her by, running frantically, while others lay unmoving in the snow around her. She saw a few white boiler suits, hoping her crew was alright. Bepo was the closest and she slowly started to crawl towards him. She thought she was calling his name, but couldn't be sure as all the sounds remained fuzzy. Her vision was blurry and her eyes stung from the smoke around her. Even so, she managed to distinguish some forms and realized there was a familiar redhead with a lute near her. "Hisui…san…," she tried to call for him, though she could barely hear her voice.

The others weren't in much better state. Hisui groaned as he looked around in panic, calling for the toymaker. "Nicoletta!?" He was still standing, although barely, considering he was already exhausted from doing the merge ritual with his wife. It took a lot of power to open the crack and bring the two worlds together, leaving little energy for anything else after that. Both Nicoletta and him had to go all out for this one day to have together.

He felt a presence behind him and turned around just in time to dodge a kick from Ebbie. He stumbled backwards and quickly played three chords on his lute, stopping the chuckling person in their tracks. He turned around to call for the dragon woman again, only to be cut off with a strong punch to the stomach. "Nico-!" His startled eyes widened as he felt the pain spread through him, paralyzing him, as he slowly lost consciousness. He saw the fishman's face in front of him as Brill delivered the punch, then proceeded to lift the smaller man up and heft him on his broad shoulder. Hisui blacked out right as Captain Murdock slowly walked over to them.

Throughout the panic, Murdock seemed completely calm and content with the situation. He smirked at the unconscious man over Brill's shoulder, before his gaze fell on the instrument that fell from Hisui's hands and into the snow. "Take him," he ordered before turning away, leaving the lute discarded on the ground.

A new man walked over to the other, short and chubby, with two guns on the holsters around his waist. He had a black jacket with a Jolly Roger of a skull with a bandana and two crossed knives beneath it, on his back. There was a similar bandanna on the man's bald head. "Murdock, don't forget our deal! We help you bring in this…whatever he is, and you give us enough money to buy an island…using his time powers of course." The man grinned, showing rows of golden teeth. "He'll be useful for robbing banks," he added.

Murdock didn't look pleased with how the other man talked to him if his dead eyes were any indication of it, but he still smiled pleasantly at the man. "Ah, the captain of the Blade Pirates, Bandir-san. Do not worry, I will keep my end of the bargain. So you just do your part and keep everyone away from our scent," he finished. Around them, the pirates in black overalls and jackets ran around with weapons, attacking the locals and creating even more havoc until the Sea Rats make their escape.

~…..~

Rei blinked a few times, trying to focus her senses, but she could definitely feel blood trickling down the side of her head from impact. Probably a gash from some of the shrapnel. If anything, she would be coming out of this with a few bumps, bruises, and scratches all over. She mourned the loss of yet another cute outfit for just a moment before moving onto business. She opened up her mind wide, touching the consciousness of her nakama as well as the new Hearts just to get an idea of who was still conscious and who had been rendered unconscious by the harsh blast. Only a few of them were completely out, but everyone else was still aware. In fact, Miyako seemed distressed, though Rei was not sure why yet, since she was now only gathering her wits. She quickly erected her mental barriers that she kept before pushing herself up and trying to get back onto her feet and ready for anything else that might happen next.

"What a dirty trick." Zoro griped as he got up unharmed but rather agitated. He was already pulling out his swords as he got up. If someone had enough gall to hit them when they were unaware, they were looking for a fight.

"Well, I suppose these idiots need some sort of advantage when trying to knowingly and openly attack two crews known in both worlds, it seems, as being in an alliance. Though I will say that while it hurt less than what I've been dealt before, my ears are still ringing." Rei spoke a little louder than usual, her heightened sense of hearing had not appreciated being caught right in the middle of an explosion and she counted her blessings that her eardrums had not ruptured because of it. Or she would have been cursing up and down in _multiple_ languages before showing these idiots the sharp sides of her blades.

Sanji was already up, despite whatever injuries he may have sustained, and was checking to make sure that Nami was okay. He helped her up with a worried expression, which she easily waved off despite the grimace she gave. Two of her ribs might have been bruised by that, she gauged quietly. Franky had managed to take the brunt of the hit for both Usopp and Robin who had been close enough to grab and shield, and he was dusting himself off with little damage due to how his body was built, but it didn't stop him from openly glaring at the man responsible.

"Hey!" Luffy easily swung his legs into the air, rocking on his back slightly, and with the momentum righted himself in a single movement without using his hands. "That was mean! You ruined all those good food carts! I hadn't gotten to eat at those ones yet."

"You're thinking about the food!" Chopper shouted as he shakily got up, now in his Kung Fu point. "They just attacked for no reason, hurting everyone without a care."

"You're right." Luffy nodded, still filled with his righteous anger and he pointed and amended his last statement. "If any of those people in charge of those stands are hurt, I'm gonna beat you worse than what you're already gonna get!"

"Not much better!" Chopper yelled, sweatdropping at his captain's one track mind, but relented. At least Luffy was thinking of the people now. He quickly looked around until he found one body still on the ground unmoving with blood trickled down the side of her head. "Nicoletta-san!" He immediately ran to her, taking her wrist and checking for a pulse before assessing the injury she had sustained.

"Hi-sui?" Her eyes fluttered as she tried to open them, but she felt too tired and her head was spinning and she felt extremely disoriented. She had attempted to dodge the attack and contain the blast with her powers, which was usually something she wouldn't even bat an eye at, but she couldn't, not after such a feat as the one she had performed. She managed to get most of the shrapnel, opening small void portals to redirect the blast pieces safely into the ground, but ironically she had been so focused on preventing the others from being mortally wounded that she had completely missed the one coming towards her. She felt a tightness in her chest as she began to search for his qi and could sense nothing. Panic filled her. "Hisui?!"

"Stay calm Nicoletta-san, you sustained quite the hit to the head." Chopper tried to soothe her as she fought to get up, but her equilibrium was still off from the heavy hit to the head. She batted him away as she continued to call out for her husband, her panic growing the more and more he didn't reply to her calls.

~…..~

Law was able to avoid the worst of the explosion, only suffering from disorientation from the blast, but he could tell he didn't have any serious injuries. Looking around, he saw the snow drenched in a color of crimson from the fallen people who weren't as lucky. Instantly, he searched for his crew, worried that they could have been among the victims and found Cody lying beside him on the floor.

"Cody-ya!" He went to him in a hurry and knelt down beside his body, turning the bluehead around with caution. He didn't want to irritate any injuries the medic might have, but he needed to inspect him to be sure. The lad had a bump on his head, but other than that he couldn't see any blood or wounds on him.

Cody groaned in pain, slowly opening his eyes to the sounds of screams and his captain calling him. "What happened?"

"A trap was set by Murdock, though I don't know with what purpose," Law muttered in thought, also interested in the other captain's intentions. "Can you walk?"

The medic was silent for a while as if analyzing his own body at the moment, before he nodded his head curtly.

"Then go help the others, there might be some injured," the captain ordered, helping the medic to his feet.

Law turned around to go find the others just like Cody, when he heard an angry cry coming his way. A pirate in black was running towards him with his sword held high, ready to bring it down on him. He didn't recognize the pirate as anyone special, only that he belonged to one of the crews on this island. Without a second thought, the surgeon unsheathed his nodachi with one swift motion and sliced the attacker's abdomen horizontally before the other could even swing down his sword. Law passed him in a walk, without even changing his pace, while the pirate let out a death gasp and fell on his face beside him. _*So not only are we fighting against Murdock's crew, but also at least one more pirate crew. They must be working together, since this is a too big of a coincidence that they attacked at the same time.*_ he frowned, looking at his surroundings.

There was nothing left of the idyllic scenery of the town. Instead, pirates were laughing and running after the locals with their weapons, killing, pillaging and plundering houses and stores. The people ran or hid in their houses, crying and screaming in terror from the sudden unexpected oppression. Some of the men took their own weapons now and fought against the pirates, trying to protect their home town and families. Even though they weren't warriors, they were much stronger than one would think, their strong build helping them against the enemies. Even so, it was obvious they won't hold out on their own for long.

By the time Miyako came to, got up and helped Bepo on his feet, Hisui was already away from her sight and lost in the crowd of battling men. She searched around, but didn't find any trace of the Sea Rats either. They were already long gone, and only the Blade Pirates were left to keep the others distracted from going after ran over to the sight where she last saw the bard, her leg nudging at something on the ground. Looking down, she noticed it was Hisui's lute, giving her a bad feeling about this. She never saw the man without it and she doubted Hisui would just leave it here if he had a choice. Tightening her lips, she took the instrument and placed it against some stairs of a house so she could pick it up again later. She had to keep her hands free to use the sword now.

"I'm going to go find Captain," the polar bear told her before turning to run in a direction of their captain. His nose wasn't helping much since the scent was covered behind a veil of smoke, gunpowder and blood, but Bepo's sharp eyes caught sight of the captain's fuzzy hat instead.

The girl wanted to go with him, but a scream of a woman nearby brought her attention to the pirates rampaging through the city. She didn't want to leave these kind townsfolk to their fate. She wanted to help. "I'll take care of the pirates and protect the people," she called out before running in the other direction.

One of the Blade pirates leaped at her from the side, but the girl sidestepped the attack and sliced through his stomach, stepping behind him. She didn't even stop to watch him fall before she was already on the move towards the next one. A cry of a child reached her ears and she turned around to see a pirate in black grabbing a hold of the mother while the child desperately clung to her skirt. Miyako headed towards them, but stopped when a single shot echoed throughout the air. The pirate was hit right in the middle of his forehead and fell dead to the ground. Miyako searched around for the sniper, to see Sai aiming his rifle towards the fallen pirate. Behind him was Eli with a pistol in each hand, shooting at the enemies. The two were so proficient at long range combat and so quick with their guns that no opponent could even come close or have time to fire at them.

Couple of attackers charged at her and Miyako waited for the quicker one to come close before stepping forward and ending his charge with a side step and a strong roundhouse kick to the stomach, a second before the other arrived whose sword she blocked with her katana, sliding her sword across the other blade and slicing at the man's head. The head rolled to the ground in front of the first attacker who managed to get back up, only to get a sword through his stomach this time. These pirates showed no mercy to the civilians of this town, so Miyako had no intention of showing any quarter to them. She heard a loud shout and saw Yibor leading an armed group of men from the western part of town to fight against the pirates. However, there was no sign of the redheaded bard. She remembered seeing him fighting against one of the Sea Rats just before he got incapacitated by them. _*Was he taken by Murdock's men, after all? I'll have to inform the others later, but before that, we need to stop these pirates and regroup. The Strawhats should be around here too.*_ She ran towards her enemies, keeping her eyes open for the Hearts' allies in case they were injured by the explosion or needed help.

~…..~

Rei's mind was spinning as she quickly formed a battle plan. The main problem was that the other pirates had all gone berserk in the excitement and now were all over the town causing trouble, making it difficult to contain them with just the limited amount of people available for her to utilize. Usopp probably had a green pop of some kind that could help block off the roads from the main square, but that still required someone to lure or lead them all back into the main part of the square. Robin could possibly also erect defenses and detain a few of the pirates that had already left the town square, but she would rather put her to a different use.

Her thoughts were not even interrupted when someone of lower caliber and skill came rushing at her with a blade and, without even registering it mentally, her body moved. The strategist's swords were drawn from their sheaths and her qi entered their forms as she fell into one of her sword-style's poses. The movements had been ingrained into her soul with how many times she had to perform the same forms over and over that she did so automatically when she sensed killer intent directed towards her. While her teal blade, Shimo Shuuki, was used to redirect the momentum of the other pirate's sword away from her and into the ground, the red one, Yuuyake, heated up, glowing like raw molten lava, as she channelled her qi through it and severed the man's head without any resistance. Rei didn't even think about the body of the man she had just killed as it fell limply to the ground with a heavy thunk, the flesh that had touched her red blade sizzling, embers flickering out in the remains, the slight smell of burning flesh, and no blood spurting out as if it the wound she inflicted had been cauterized by her blade. Instead, her mind still reeling over the best plan she could take at this point.

Mulling it over a second longer, she refocused on the world around her and began to delegate her plan to her nakama, at least the ones near enough to utilize. Luffy was a bit further away from the rest, as was Chopper, so she'd have to go to them in order to use them in her strategy. "Robin. I know it will be a lot of work, but try to minimize the harm that comes to the people of this island. You're going to have to stretch your senses throughout the entirety of the plaza to make sure you get as many as you can. Brook, since you are faster than the rest of us, you are our front assault. Go and help where Robin can't and make sure that the islanders aren't harmed first and foremost." The skeleton quickly tipped his hat before taking off in a dash to go do as he had been told. He didn't need to wait to hear the rest of the plan, now knowing what his role in it would be. "Nami, I need you to go with Usopp and watch his six while he barricades as many streets as possible. We need to contain the threat. Franky, you watch Robin's six since this is going to take all her concentration. Get to a good place where the only way to harm her is through you. Zoro, Sanji, go do what you two do best, but try not to damage the area any more than it has been. We know nothing of how this place is being held together, and we can't risk anything until we understand how Nicoletta and Hisui both managed this."

"What about the pirates that already got into the streets?" Nami asked, worried about the other people outside the town square's safety. She quickly moved after she had spoken, dodging an attack from behind before the unfortunate pirate got a hard kick to the face, compliments of Sanji who was still standing by Nami. He cussed angrily at the hostile as he fiercely told the other pirate where he thought he should shove it.

"I have an idea for that, but I have to go find Nicoletta and Luffy for that." She turned her head to where she could sense them, Nicoletta was in obvious distress and so she expanded her qi to search for Hisui's signature as well. "I can't sense Hisui anywhere, however, but I _know_ he's not dead. He must have been the target and the rest of this is simply a distraction."

"Damn bastards." Sanji growled. "Stealing away the kind and beautiful Nicoletta's one true love. I might mourn that she's already been snatched up, but I will kick all these bastards' asses for taking away something as precious as her happiness!" He was fired up and ready to dish out punishment.

"Tch," Zoro was drawing out his blades with a blood thirsty look upon his face. "I'm just happy to kick ass. I don't need an excuse to dish it out. If they want maiming and mayhem, I'll be happy to give it to them."

"Yow~," Franky pulled a pose quickly. "We'll show them not to mess with us! Come on Robin, let's teach these bastards a super lesson they soon won't forget."

Robin nodded and the two of them moved to find a more secure location so that Franky could have an easier time protecting her prone body as she used her devil fruit to help as many others as she could. Nami and Usopp both had determined faces as they took off to start sealing up the streets, trusting in Rei's ability to strategize a winning outcome and put two effective individuals together without them struggling to accomplish their goal.

"Go find Luffy and Nicoletta quickly and let's get this back under control." Zoro told her before putting his third katana in his mouth and focusing on stopping the hordes of pirates that had forgotten any initial fear and restraint when they had first docked at the island.

"Of course," Rei nodded, once more sidestepping an attack and quickly disposing of her opponent without much thought. She started running to where the blast had sent the rest of her crew packing and hoped that Nicoletta was alright enough to go along with her plan, dodging, defending, and attacking any of those with hostility aimed towards her as she ran. She didn't know a whole lot about Munashii Dragons, but she did know that they could use their powers as a mean of teleportation.

~…~

Miyako just sliced through another pirate when she noticed a blue film expand from the square, all over town, until it was enveloping everything. She recognized it immediately and only had time to wonder why Law decided to use such wide range for his powers when she found herself in a completely different spot in a blink of an eye. She blinked a few times in confusion, startled when she was teleported to another place. Looking around, she got an answer to her previous question. Her captain used Shambles to switch all his nearby enemies with the Heart Pirates that were currently fighting around town. Now, the square was filled with dozen white boiler suits as the Hearts regrouped and made a formation around their captain. It allowed Law to examine the state of his crew and give further orders that will deliver this situation to a close as soon as possible.

Beside her, Joshua shook his head to get rid of the strange feeling of being suddenly teleported. "I hate when he does that," he grumbled, before throwing a scalpel at another enemy and hitting them right in the neck.

"I know what you mean…my stomach always feels funny from it," the samurai frowned. No matter how many times Law used his powers on them, she'll never get used to it.

"But you have to admit, it's quite practical," the blue-haired medic responded with a smirk.

"How about we buy him a whistle for times like these instead?" Penguin sighed, not appreciating these sudden pulls with Law's devil fruit powers that changed his scenery in a heartbeat and always left him perplexed of what just happened.

"I'd rather not be treated as a dog, thank you!" The other head mechanic responded, lightly elbowing Penguin's ribs.

Ouch, not there," Penguin whined since his ribs were bruised from the previous explosion, where he was blasted away into a staircase.

"Too bad Munk or Jean Bart aren't here to help. Those big guys would be a good asset right now," Ari commented, gazing around at the incoming enemy pirates.

"What, ya can't fight these small-fry on yer own, Ari?" Eli grinned tauntingly at his crewmate.

"We can take them on easily! Hi-ya!" Bepo took a kung-fu stance, protectively standing in front of his captain and shielding him. He kicked another incoming pirate right in the face, sending him flying.

"Just cover me while I do my magic and you'll have no worries. I can take them down with one shot each from here," Sai added, reloading his rifle.

"Just don't take down the running locals, instead. You won't get many clear shots until they're close," Sam warned.

Sai was silent for a while before he deliberately looked to the side, giving off a suspicious aura. "Well one or two people can't be helped…it's collateral damage."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not with that blank tone of yours!" Sam bit back, glaring at the sniper. "No collateral damage, ok!?"

"Everyone, listen up," Law called out and all crewmembers turned their attention towards him while still keeping their focused eyes on the enemy. "We're going to start cleaning up. Mister Sai, find some high ground and start picking out the enemies. The clock tower will probably be best. Eli-ya, take out the targets on the square with your guns. Ari-ya, you cover him with your knives while he reloads. Miss Miyako, Sam-ya and Bepo, you'll start cleaning out the square from the pirates with me at close range. Josh-ya and Shachi, go together towards the west and start cleaning out the streets from the pirates that spread further than the square. Mister Cody and Penguin, do the same in the eastern parts. Medics, if you notice anyone in need of medical attention you can help them, but don't put yourselves in danger because of it! Our first priority is killing off the enemy and surviving, not the locals!"

Miyako sighed, giving her captain a scowl that clearly stated what she thought about his last words. Of course, he ignored her on the matter. However, she knew him and doubted he wouldn't help a civilian in trouble right before his eyes, so she stayed quiet about it. He _did_ care, even if only a little and even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Move out!" The captain gave his last order in a shout.

"Aaaaye!" All the Heart Pirates shouted back, getting pumped up for the fight that followed. Adrenalin hit them, making them fan out to their posts in a rush.

Bepo, Sam, Law and Miyako moved to the inner part of the square, slicing and dicing, kicking and punching, as they went. They could see the Strawhats already in action, each performing a certain task to contain the chaos. On their part, it appeared Rei was the one who gave out the orders for the strategy as she moved each Strawhat where they would be most efficient.

"Let's give the Strawhats some back up," the first mate suggested and both him and Miyako hurried into the fight, while Law followed after them, slicing numerous pirates at once with his powers.

~…..~

Rei was almost to where Nicoletta and Chopper was, noting how Luffy was still close by the two though he was now fighting those foolish enough to get into his warpath. He was doing what he wanted and she had no qualms about leaving him for now. She would call to him when his part of the plan was to begin. For now, she had to assess if her initial idea could be utilized. She could see that Chopper was trying to tend to her and she too had a gash on her head, but hers seemed to be causing her to be greatly disoriented.

Right before she got there, a big burly looking pirate easily twice her size thought it wise to swing his double edged battle ax her way. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. She hated taking lives, but she had no qualms when the other didn't respect the life of others. She used Yuuyake, focusing her energy into tapping the edge of the ax and redirecting the axe's trajectory so that he would miss her instead of landing a fatal blow. The man had swung it so it was impossible to stop the momentum now, especially since she wasn't insanely strong like Luffy or Zoro and could pull off such impossible feats without using excess energy, so she merely focused on changing the flow of its downward swing. It crashed into the stone pavement beside her and she continued going forward, raising Shimo Shuuki to deal the finishing blow.

"Arctic Strike." She announced as she never once stopped running towards Chopper and Nicoletta, the sword seemingly passing through the man without injury.

"Ha!" The man gloated. "That didn't do-" He stopped when he felt a burning sensation and looked down to where she had run the blade across his torso, ice creeping out of his wound and consuming him before he could even scream.

Her eyes flicked teal for a moment as she used the ice qi she had injected into his body to finish him off before her eyes were crimson once more. A few of the pirates that had witnessed it dropped their swords, muttering her moniker. She glowered at them, angry that even the pirates from her world were foolish enough to join this chaos when they _knew_ that her crew was that powerful. The ones that knew of her reputation took a few steps back at her molten gaze, fear filling them as they realized how over their heads they truly were.

She finally reached Nicoletta and Chopper, the latter who was entirely frustrated with his patient who refused to allow him the chance to even check her injuries to instead search futilely for her husband that returned none of her panicked calls.

"He's not here, Nicoletta." Rei finally told her as she was close enough to hold the woman's attention. "He was taken."

Nicoletta's eyes landed on her, any sign of her disorientation now gone as fury was filling her gaze. Her panic melted away to anger. "Then I need to get him back!" Her expression turned to concern as she spoke her next sentence. "I can't undo _any_ of this without him."

"What?" Rei didn't like how dread filled her at that statement. "What do you mean by that?"

"This phenomena. It takes damn near everything from us to create so that we can have _one_ day together. _One_. By the strike of midnight, we _must_ undo it. It can only sustain life for the next twenty-four hours and then, it falls apart at the seams if Hisui and I are not there to carefully pull it apart once more."

"So basically, we all _die_ if you two aren't together to undo it?!" Chopper screamed as the severity of the situation became clear to him.

"Not just die, little reindeer," Nicoletta corrected. "This pocket dimension he and I created will _collapse_ and time will possibly be so distorted that it will take what feels like eons of agonizing pain for us to _finally_ die."

"That doesn't make me feel better!" Chopper sobbed, freaked out at the idea of slowly dying for near eternity.

"Alright then," Rei took a deep breath as she too tried to swallow that bit of information. "We'll just have to get a handle on this situation, go save Hisui, and make sure he's back here before midnight. No biggie." That last part was facetiously spoken. She didn't know what was worse at this point. Facing Doflamingo or trying to reunite two lovers before the world folded in on itself. No pressure. None at all… Rei decided she preferred fighting Doflamingo again.

"There _are_ a few more… issues…" Nicoletta gave a sheepish look as she shrunk a bit at her admittance.

"Tell me later. Right now we need to stop all this bloodshed." Rei didn't want to hear it. Whatever it was, they'd handle it _after_ stopping all the pirates from going awol.

"Right." Nicoletta nodded. "Is there something ye needed of me? I am not too able bodied right now. It took a lot out of me just to create the pocket dimension with Hisui… but I will try if there is something ye require of me."

"I know you are tired. I can sense it, but I need you to teleport any unfamiliar qi signatures back here to the square. We need to contain the pirates that are out and about and that will be the fastest way to minimize bloodshed."

"I…" Nicoletta paused as she searched out the qi, gauging her ability to do such a feat. "I can't do it in this form. I'm too tired. But… If I shift, I might be able to draw enough of the excess qi in both towers to do that."

"Shift?" Chopper questioned before his eyes grew wide. "Into a dragon?!"

"Yes, but I don't know if I have the energy to do it. I am practically mortal this night." Nicoletta confessed.

"Can I give you some of mine?" Rei stooped down onto her knees and held out open palms, having sheathed her blades as she had been conversing. Luffy was doing a fine enough job keeping the hordes of people away from them.

"Ye are just a drake," Nicoletta spoke rather unsurely. "A Kasai at that. But qi _is_ qi and that is all that is needed to shift." She placed her hands over Rei's and closed her eyes as she concentrated. "We will know soon enough."

Rei felt a huge drain on her as Nicoletta syphoned off what she would need to shift into her true form, her body glowing and the dragon orbs sewn to her dress pulsing as they too began to glow a brilliant dark purple. Suddenly, in a burst of brilliant light, Nicoletta transformed, her form covered in a purple light as her body became bigger and took on a form entirely different than any form Rei had ever seen before.

Now Rei had seen quite a few dragons in her life and she knew that none of them looked the same, but she had never once seen one that had the same shape as Nicoletta. Her body changed, growing easily to the size of a second story building, all four legs now used to keep her standing, her tail whipping out in a long, elegant form, growing slimmer the further from her body it got until it was at a sharp point with the usual mane covering any hidden blade at the end. Her feet turned into hooves and her body became more like a deer's. Even her head took more of a deer like form, her horns flowing back before curling inwards into a spiral at the end with prongs attached. Rei realized that Nicoletta reminded her of a reindeer in this form. The dragon orbs now took the form of glowing bells that chimed as she reared her front feet and landing hard enough to make the ground shake underneath. The glowing light dispersed allowing Rei to see how she looked covered in scales. Her horns were white and her hooves black as well as her mane upon her neck that ran all the way to the tuff of her tail. Even on the back of her legs, tufts of black could be seen poking out between the deep purple scales. Her irises were bigger and nearly consumed most of the space within her eyes, like seeing galaxies within them.

Rei stared in admiration as Nicoletta let out a loud bleat before raising her head and two streams of purple qi flowing from the clock towers and into her. She took what she needed before rearing back and kicking out her front hooves once more, her dragon orbs chiming in a single tone as she used her void powers to create rips in the fabric of the dimension and teleport the wayward pirates back into the square. She landed with another heavy landing, shaking the ground again before slowly lowering herself to the ground, completely exhausted.

* _Finish wot ye must do_ * Her voice rang out in Rei's mind as her eyes drooped. She was too tired to shift so soon after doing that. She had to have a breather before attempting again.

Rei nodded before turning to where her captain was staring in absolute awe at Nicoletta's display. All of the pirates were dumbfounded, but Rei knew this was the moment to strike. "Luffy!"

He quickly jerked his head in her direction, listening for what she had to say. She gave him a smug smirk, mimicking a bit one of her brothers, as she spoke the words. "Even the odds a bit will you? Show them what it means to face a man with Haoshoku Haki."

Luffy's face turned serious as he gave her a solemn nod.

* _Brace yourselves,_ * Rei managed to telepathically warn both her nakama and their temporary allies.

A moment later, Luffy released a blast of haki, eliminating those of weaker spirit that were unable to contend with his. People all over the plaza, islanders and pirates alike, were hitting the ground unconscious and a much more manageable amount remained.

"The odds have been evened. Do your jobs! Finish taking out these greedy bastards." Rei shouted, drawing her blades once more. It was time to stop this nonsense and focus on coming up with a plan to get Hisui back.

~…..~

The samurai's eyes darted around the square, locking onto a group of black-clothed pirates who were fighting off some of the locals in front of her. She quickly leaped forward towards them, seemingly disappearing to the untrained eye, and reappearing behind the group of enemies. A gust of swift wind followed her and in the next instant each pirate fell to the ground with a single slash to their vital point, the bright red staining the snow _. 'Ittouryu: ichijin!'_

Next to her, the polar bear dodged bullets and fought with exceptional speed that would not be expected for someone of his size. He waited until a dozen of pirates leaped at him at the same time, before jumping off the ground and twirling in the air, creating a tornado of punches and kicks that sent each of his opponents flying in a different direction.

Law had no mercy for his enemies, as usual. He would create small blue spheres with his powers and manipulate everything in them. He would slice the air, separating the pirates in numerous parts before sending the large lumps of flesh flying towards their allies. It was a good tactic to stop the incoming attacks, but also to freak the hell out of them, making them doubt whether even attacking the Surgeon of Death would be a good idea. He could see the doubt and fear in their eyes, and reveled in it.

From above, bullets rained down onto the enemies, as Sai made each shot count. He rarely had to target the same enemy twice. His speed and steady hand were as high-skilled as his aim, perhaps only comparable to the sniper of the Strawhats. Usopp on the other hand had finished his given job and both he and Nami were taking out who they could with both of their techniques. Nami controlled lightning storms striking down pirates while Usopp used his green pops to wipe out who he could and even used the plants to apprehend those that had been beaten.

Robin was also taking out a majority of the pirates spread out, sometimes holding them for the snipers to take out or to keep them out of the others' way as they dealt with their own opponents. She kept any one person on either crew from being overwhelmed while Franky managed to keep anyone from reaching her, though there were a few smart enough to know that she needed to be taken out and also stupid enough to think they could beat the cyborg.

Even Zoro and Sanji were everywhere. The two of them seemed to be having a competition to see who could wipe out the most opponents before the end of this whole battle, while Brook was dutifully saving the citizens from any more harm that was aimed at them.

However, their counterattack that so perfectly worked like clockwork was altogether interrupted as a strange creature started to arise from the crowd in the square. It was hard to tell what it was from its form; only that it was a giant animal with hooves and horns of some sort. Some would say a reindeer if it weren't for glistening scales on its skin that was also covered in fur on some parts. Only the eyes looked familiar to the pirates, as they were an enlarged version of the same magnificent eyes they previously saw on the woman toymaker.

"Gyaaah, a monster!" Bepo screamed in panic, thinking this was some new trap by their enemies. His fear was understandable as the creature could eat a whole person in one simple gulp. Even Nami's surprised shriek could be heard from anywhere in the city, but it wasn't one of fear but of unexpected surprise.

However, Miyako felt no bloodthirst towards them from the creature. No killing intent towards the locals, Strawhats or the Hearts. So the samurai stood still, amazed by the sight and waiting for the creature to make the first move. She wanted to see its intentions first.

"Now that I think about it…it smells like Nicoletta-san," Bepo suddenly realized, wording his revelations out loud.

"Hisui-san's lover?!" Miyako couldn't contain her surprise. "How could that be?"

However, the bear had no answer and only shook his head in confusion.

They waited for the scaled creature to act and after a while, it did. It did something even stranger. It thumped its hooves on the ground, making a small earthquake that shook the whole town. The Hearts retained their balance, but only tensed more in anxiety of what this animal will do. They soon got their answer. In the next moment, the enemy pirates suddenly appeared in the air and fell to the ground with pained gasps.

"It's summoning more enemies?!" Miyako's first thought made her exasperated just from an idea that this fight will never end like this.

"No…I think it's teleporting them. It's…or Nicoletta-ya is, if what Bepo says is true, gathering all the enemies in the square for us," the Hearts' captain explained with interest. He suddenly became even more curious about the peculiar woman who just appeared before them today.

"So she's making our work easier," Miyako smirked.

"Let's not disappoint her, then," Law returned that smirk with his own and the Hearts all focused their fired-up gazes towards the newly arrived enemies.

In the next instant, they were on the enemy pirates, easily bringing them down. Whether luckily or unfortunately, that didn't take long as another amazing thing happened. As usual, it was one thing after the other every time they were with the Strawhat crew.

Luffy used his Haoshoku haki to take down most of the enemy pirates, including the residents of the town.

Before that, a voice resonated in the samurai's head and she gasped at the strange feeling, thinking she was hallucinating this familiar voice. Right after that, she felt a sudden blast of power hit her, like a suffocating pressure in her head and lungs. It reminded her of the Kenshi spirit that the Wano samurai often used pre and during a battle, but it was even more potent than that. She could feel goosebumps appear on her skin and a cold shudder ran down her spine, but the samurai stayed conscious. Her mind was strong enough to resist the swelling urge to just shut down completely. As soon as the haki appeared, it disappeared again, leaving only a dozen more pirates to fight. She exchanged glances with the Hearts and the Strawhats, all of them silently deciding to end this battle once and for all.

When the last of the pirates fell to the floor beaten, only then did Miyako sheath back her katana, Yawarakai-Te, and jog towards her comrades and new allies. She was mostly focusing on the creature before her, though still wary of the giant animal. However, if that was truly Nicoletta, she wanted to tell her about what she saw concerning Hisui's kidnapping; that it was Murdock who took the bard away.

However, before that, she also wanted to make sure of everyone's safety. "Is everyone alright?"

It seemed as though they were all gathering to Nicoletta's resting form, where Rei was gently caressing her muzzle as a way to comfort and soothe the dragon's frayed nerves as the Toymaker rested with her eyes closed. Chopper was taking her vitals with a stethoscope pressed up against her belly between the scales and fur, seeing as her heart beat had been erratic after straining herself with her powers and wanted to make sure it wasn't life threatening. Luffy, on the other hand, was sitting on the crown of Nicoletta's head, stars in his eyes as he continued to chant 'so cool' over and over again now that the initial danger had passed. The female dragon paid no mind nor was she upset by his actions, instead her eyes were closed as she tried to even her breaths.

"Nicoletta is just a _little_ exhausted is all." Rei answered Miyako's question. "She pulled off quite a lot today and has more than pushed herself past her limit. Give her a small nap and I'm sure we'll be able to get her back into her other form so she can start explaining the current issue."

"What about you?" Nami asked as she pointed to the dried blood on the side of Rei's head. She and Usopp had made it up just in time to hear Miyako's concerned question. "You should let either Law or Chopper take a look at that."

"I've had concussions before Nami," Rei gave her a flat look. "I am more than capable of gauging whether or not I've suffered a hard enough blow to receive head trauma." Though she could definitely feel that she had been struck in her arm by some small, stray shrapnel now that her ears weren't ringing anymore and she was more aware of her senses, but she wasn't going to mention it. The bleeding wasn't too heavy and she could take care of it later. One really couldn't notice since she was wearing such long, dark gloves that easily hid the blood. So, before anyone did notice, she redirected everyone's attention to Nami and her injuries. "Unlike you, who is _obviously_ cradling her ribs with one of her arms."

"I've had enough broken ribs to know these are just bruised. Doesn't mean they don't hurt like a bitch though..." Nami waved off.

"Hmmm _hmmmm_ ," Rei hummed. "So basically, don't let Sanji know or he might mother hen you?"

" _Please_." Nami begged exaggeratedly, the two of them chucking a bit since Sanji was still out of hearing range, but both he and Zoro were making their way closer to the rest of them, as was Brook, Robin, and Franky. The ginger glanced at Usopp. "How about you?"

"Nothing I wasn't given earlier this morning." Usopp shook his head. "I'm resilient anyways." That was the only word to explain how he could suffer so much damage and yet walk away from it, albeit limping and bleeding.

"So in the end, nothing but our outfits really took a blow. Damn, I really liked this jacket, but blood and grime on white is near impossible to get out." It was spoken more like a joke to keep things light, but soon she was shifting the conversation back to the real subject. "How about you lot? None of you sustained any lasting injuries, I hope." Rei then turned back to the Hearts, glancing at them to make sure that none of them were bleeding too much.

The Heart Pirates also slowly gathered around the group and the dragon in the middle. Some were bruised, but none looked seriously injured. Only Sam limped as some destroyed stones hit him in the leg when one of the mines exploded. It was already bandaged and treated, but there was still a stain of dried blood on the gauze and his clothes. He was keeping his balance on his left leg instead, while Cody supported him and helped him to walk.

"We are fine, though we'll have to meet up with the rest of the crew at the submarine. Some have a few minor injuries to treat," the captain of the Hearts answered.

"I suggest you don't take too long to get that bruised head checked, though," Cody warned the red-eyed swordswoman. "Even if you feel fine now, head injuries can be very dangerous, yet hard to detect. I've seen it before; people hitting their head and thinking their fine, and then they just went to sleep and never woke up," the medic warned.

Rei gave a dry chuckle, obviously having heard the same phrase before. "I will keep that in mind, medic-san, and make sure _my_ doctor takes a look. However, I don't think I will be going to sleep anytime soon really." Not with the information given to her about Hisui and the pocket dimension.

"I do understand, we have more pressing matters," Miyako exclaimed. "I've seen Murdock and his crew take Hisui away, but I do not know where." She felt guilty for not being able to stop them at the time, but she could hardly get up in all that devastation. He was gone from her sight before she could even focus her eyes and mind clearly.

"Are you telling me this was all for that bard?" Shachi scratched his head in thought. "But why would they want him?"

"That man is obviously more than what he appears to be," Law concluded, giving the large dragon a knowing stare. "And he's not the only one."

The short medic just stared at both the Strawhats and the Hearts, raising his eyebrow in question when nobody addressed the obvious elephant in the room….or rather, a dragon in the square. "Sooo…nobody is going to address the large creature lying here in the center of town…?" He gazed around in question, as if he was the only one who is strange for not finding that scene completely normal.

"Actually, I'm quite interested in that myself…You _are_ Nicoletta-ya, are you not?" Law spoke to the dragon, his piercing eyes already signifying that he knew he was right on that matter. This was the toymaker, but what she actually was, he had no idea. Yet he intended to find out. "What are you exactly?"

"And do you know any reason why Murdock would want Hisui-san," Miyako added to the captain's questions with her own.

"Yes, this is Nicoletta." Rei nodded as she was still using her nails and scratching the dragon's muzzle in between the scales. "And she is what you'd call a dragon." Rei paused, rolling her eyes up skyward with a thoughtful expression concerning that last statement. "Or what you _would_ call a dragon if they existed like this in your world. But I suppose you can say that's the one difference that made all the other changes between our world and yours- the existence or _non_ existence of sentient dragons."

"Dragon!?" Like a chorus, all the Heart Pirates exclaimed in unison. It was just unimaginable no matter how Rei explained it. Yet the proof was right before their eyes, daring them to deny it, just as unbelievable as everything Nicoletta and Hisui told them about parallel dimensions.

"Dragons exist in your world?! Are they dangerous? They must be! Are they friendly? Are they your allies? Do you also look like this when you're in dragon mode?" Penguin showered the Strawhats with questions, his mind buzzing with excitement and bewilderment of what he just heard.

Both him and Shachi had stars in their covered eyes, completely enchanted by the fact they just met a real dragon, even as it didn't look anything like in the pictures of various books. The two were usually complete maniacs when it came to machinery, which was way they practically hyperventilated the first time they met Franky as saw all his different forms and abilities, but dragons were just as cool in their book.

"Yes, dragons exist in our world. That much is quite _obvious_ at this point," Rei gestured at Nicoletta with a humored smirk. "As for being dangerous, they are very powerful, but I have not met one that has been malicious, not to say that there are none, but none that I've met. _Some_ have made themselves my allies, but I am not that important in their world to really be someone worth seeking an alliance with." Rei gave him a forced grin as she tried to not feel nervous at that last comment. "Now why would you suspect _me_ as being a dragon? I haven't done anything to warrant such accusations!"

"Rei, no one has eyes like yours that _isn't_ some sort of dragon kin." Usopp kindly pointed out, making the young strategist sigh at the sad truth. To those that knew of their existence, it was obvious that she was one because of her brilliant red eyes. Kaito was so damn lucky sometimes.

"Besides, there was this odd atmosphere and scent about you that we just coudn't put a finger on until now…something like you weren't _exactly_ human," Bepo noted, sniffing the air around her for a bit.

The younger head mechanic scratched his head with a sheepish smile, "Yeah, Bepo mentioned it to us before, but we didn't want to pry. Sorry, I kinda just blurted it out cause the thought came to me," he apologized.

Miyako and Law were surprised, but they had a slightly different reaction as they shared a glance. They were both reminded of the dragons at Punk Hazard, however since they were close to Caesar and his men at the time, they both knew those dragon were only artificial copies of the dragons in legends, and weren't _real_. At that time, that fact made perfect sense to them since they knew dragons didn't actually exist. Yet now, that firm belief was so easily shaken. Actually, beliefs in a lot of natural laws were being shaken today, ever since they got to Snowflake Island.

"And you thought this island will be boring," Shachi whispered to Joshua, nudging him in the shoulder.

"Wait...Captain and Miya-chan mentioned something about dragons on Punk Hazard. Did they somehow come from your world then? A family member, perhaps?" Penguin continued his burst of questions.

Rei rested one of her hands on top her sword as her mood suddenly declined. Nami quickly squeaked and hid behind Usopp who was shaking his head quickly as he tried to tell the Heart pirates nonverbally not to pursue that train of thought. Rei let out a rather feral growl, baring her irregularly long and _sharp_ teeth at the mechanic, as she looked up, her pupils nothing but slits as she muttered one warning. "Those are _fakes_. Artificial and a _mockery_. So here is your _one_ warning. Say that _again_ and you will find out the vast differences the _hard_ way."

"Eeek!" Penguin all but jumped into Shachi's arms when he saw the death glare coming from Rei. He could feel her warning stare like cold daggers piercing his heart. "I'm sorry, my mistake, you have no correlation to those dragons whatsoever!"

"She's…. a bit… touchy… about that..." Usopp managed to mutter with a nervous look. Rei on a rampage was not what they needed right now.

Luffy's ears caught that question as he grinned, "Oh! Are you talking about Rei's cousins? We ate the red one! He was delicious!" He paused as he thought about it for a second. "Rei didn't eat him though, because then that'd be cannibalism. Robin said so, shishishishishi."

"Luffy!" Both Nami and Usopp wailed before turning to where Robin was outright laughing at their captain's comment, remembering that she _had_ said that at the time.

" _Robin!_ " Neither of them wanted to tempt fate with how long Rei could contain her temper.

Rei pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to focus on calming down before she sprouted talons or horns. " _Anyways_ , yes, Nicoletta is a dragon, from _our_ world. They obviously don't exist in the same way and thus anything they did in our world would not have been done in yours."

"Ah, so that's what Nicoletta meant." Nami finally caught on to the hint that the other had given them when she had first explained the difference. "Without Dragons, the sub-race of half-dragons wouldn't exist either and people like Midori, Kaito, and yourself wouldn't have been born."

Rei shot a sour face towards Nami. She had been hoping _not_ to mention that important factor in her explanation, especially around _curious_ individuals like Law. It was bad enough when Law from their world looked at her like he wanted to dissect her, but this one had no reason to refrain outside of a pretext of an alliance that technically wasn't valid since they were not the Mugiwara crew they had _made_ the alliance with and vice versa. She gave a huff, slightly put out sounding as she replied to Nami's observation. "Yes, Nami, I probably would not have been born either, unless I was detrimental to the anchor points, which it appears as if I was not."

Just as Rei predicted, as soon as the Dark Doctor heard Nami's words, his piercing gaze full of interest fell onto the red-eyed girl. Not only did they have one dragon on this island, but two, and both at his arm's reach. And oh, how his fingers twitched and ached to do more than examining just by external analysis and questions. It would be a completely new discovery of his life, never seen before in their world. The full anatomy of a dragon! He wanted to see all similarities and differences between the dragons and the human race. He was already getting some curious intel from Rei's explanations and his own observations; for example he learnt that dragons could shift form since he saw both of Nicoletta's forms. They also had special powers and Nicoletta's must have something to do with space since she could teleport those pirates and manipulate a crack in dimensions. At the back of his mind he made a note to himself to inspect further and ask Rei a few questions when they had time. The other inquiry, he decided, would be about the faint voice warning him in his head right before Luffy unleashed his haki. This new crewmember was full of surprises, but Law felt excited about unveiling all her mysteries along with the enigmas of this island. This day was just getting more and more interesting.

A subtle nudge brought him back to reality as Miyako pushed her shoulder against his. He gave her a raised eyebrow with an askance gaze. "You have that 'I-want-to-dissect-something' look. Don't freak out our new allies," she warned in a whisper so only he could hear. The others were still occupied with talking about dragons.

The captain scowled at her, "Don't tell me what to do." He stayed quiet for a while before adding, "And I don't have a ' _I want to dissect something'_ face."

"Mm-hmm...So you weren't thinking of any options where you would use her for your experiments...maybe after you drug her and incapacitate her first?" Miyako didn't look convinced. A part of her felt disturbed at how easily they talked about such things as drugging and experimenting on living beings. What has this doctor done to her?!

Law stayed quiet, speechless at how good the woman had read him. He cleared his throat before continuing in a low tone, "I won't drug her….however if she happens to die here, not by my hand, I don't see a reason why she can't donate her body to...research purposes."

"How _diplomatically_ put," the samurai sweatdropped, giving him a knowing stare that said she obviously didn't believe what he was trying to feed her. "Play nice," she warned.

Though the two were trying to stay quiet, Rei could hear every word with her sensitive hearing and internally she was screaming at the idea of yet _another_ Trafalgar Law trying to dissect her. One was bad enough, especially since _he_ had already claimed dibs on her body when/if she died prematurely. However, she tried to focus on the many questions being thrown her way and not worry about this Law. Miyako seemed to have a good handle on him.

The conversation between the Hearts and the Strawhats continued and the couple went back to listening, seeing that the Strawhats were now mostly teasing the swordswoman of their crew. All of them seemed used to her dragon nature as if it was the most normal thing in the world...well, maybe in _their_ world it was.

"Possibly so, but you do make things a hell of a lot easier to handle." Zoro spoke up. Both he and Sanji having finally made it to the plaza. The green haired warrior made a beeline right towards Rei and stood beside her as he usually did in such group meetings. "You certainly make _that_ headache less of one." Gesturing to Luffy who was still too excited about Nicoletta to pay the conversation much attention. His eyes turned back to Rei with a mischievous look, smirking as he spoke. "Though I do sort of feel bad for the Zoro of their world. He _must_ be bored without having a sparring partner around."

"I doubt he has time to be bored when he's fighting with that blonde cook all the time," Joshua leaned over to Miyako and whispered, making her smirk at the thought. Some things don't change, indeed, since Roronoa and Sanji seemed equally intolerable of each other no matter the world.

"Oh gee, _thanks_. I'm _so_ glad that you see that as my _one true_ purpose, keeping you from being bored." Rei let the sarcasm drip from her words and she cuffed the other swordsman hard. "Just for that, I'm kicking your ass next session."

"Tch, bring it, Yokoyama." He had one of his hands already reaching for a sword as the two began to become playfully aggressive. This battle did nothing but whet his appetite.

"Later, when the dimension isn't going to collapse on us at the stroke of midnight." Rei promised him with a feral smirk. The idea of crossing blades with someone who could give her a challenge always invigorated her blood, especially after this disappointing battle. It was hard to compare for those other pirates, she supposed, when Roronoa Zoro was one's constant sparring partner.

"Oh, so the world's going to be destroyed? Haven't done something like _that_ before." Zoro rolled his eyes, unimpressed. They had been through so much shit that this was easy enough for him to swallow.

"Waitwaitwaitwait. _Wait._ _What_ about the dimension collapsing. I haven't heard this part." Nami was shouting as her panic was renewed. Oh why oh why couldn't one island not be attacked, threatened to be destroyed, or taken to a different dimension that could _collapse_. All she wanted was a nice, quiet island for once.

"Seems you jumped the gun on that one." Zoro tsked at her while she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Oops? That was going to be the next topic I addressed?" She didn't do it often, but with Chopper having been there and Luffy not too far off, she sort of forgot that she hadn't addressed the issue with the rest of them. She tried to pretend that Robin wasn't laughing at her slip up or how Luffy's head jerked up from what he had been doing with obvious excitement at the prospect of beating the clock. She tactfully decided not to mention the 'agonizing death that could take eons' part just yet though. Probably _never_.

The Hearts, who chuckled a bit at the conversation between Zoro, Rei and the rest now all paled as their smirks fell. "What did we miss," Cody was the first to ask, eerily calm, which was because he was already too used to falling from the frying pan and into the fire. There was _always_ something.

"Total annihilation, apparently," Sai answered in his usual deadpan voice. His face didn't even twitch from the bad news.

"Why the hell are you all so calm then," Sam yelled in panic, grabbing his head with both of his hands and almost tumbling to the ground as he forgot for a while that he could barely stand.

Miyako pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache creeping. " _Great…_.Why is it always doom, and certain death, and pain wherever we go. It's like we're cursed," she complained with a groan.

"Where would be the fun otherwise," Shachi grinned as he answered sarcastically.

"Of course!" Robin added, though there was nothing sarcastic about her reply. She liked the thrills of adventures like this. "I wonder if we might die horrible deaths if we fail to make it in time!"

"Stop it Robin!" Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook all sobbed as they didn't see what was so funny about the whole situation.

"I can't say I'm not interested in how a death by being squashed within a caved-in dimension would look like, though I'd rather see it on someone else. Perhaps we could make an experiment later," Sai added to the conversation, tapping his chin in thought.

"Don't you start too!" The Heart Pirates yelled at their young navigator whose dark train of thought easily continued on Robin's.

Law sighed, not expecting anything less from the situation since the whole thing started. He would think there was little anyone could do to surprise him anymore, yet the Strawhat repeatedly succeeded. "Just tell us all you know."

"I don't know much more than that. I do know that Nicoletta and Hisui are both required to _undo_ what they had done, but other than the repercussions of failing to pull it apart gently instead of it ripping apart, Nicoletta is the only one who knows all the details. I was too busy trying to contain this fiasco to stop and ask for all the nitty gritty things, so forgive me for not knowing." Rei shook her head before looking down at Nicoletta. "She needs a little bit more time to rest before she can shift back her form, so for now, I guess I will play mediator."

Rei silently seemed to be having a conversation before looking at Law. "To answer your very first question concerning Hisui: what that man was after was something he thinks that Hisui can give him. Immortality." She paused, rolling her eyes and griping. "What is it with megalomaniacs and immortality? Don't they understand that longevity in that regard is a curse? You'd outlive everyone." She shook her head, focusing back on the matter at hand. "Anyways, she says that he thinks that Hisui can give him that, since he ate the Toki Toki no Mi. He has power over time and long ago he _did_ freeze his own internal clock to stop from aging, but he did that to be with Nicoletta." Her eyes dimmed a bit in sadness as she stroked the dragon's muzzle once more. "They've been doing this for centuries. Two star-crossed lovers on the wrong side of the dimension, doomed to only be together for just a single day. Nicoletta already had a long life to devote to their relationship, so by freezing his internal clock and, in a way, giving himself immortality, they could do this as long as she lived. Once she passes on, he would release his hold on his time and die too."

Somehow, that story sounded both sad and romantic to the samurai. She agreed with Rei that longevity wasn't necessarily a good thing. To watch all your beloved people age and die, and either repeat that for the rest of time or isolate yourself for all eternity so you wouldn't feel such pain of loss anymore. Either option sounded horrible in Miyako's opinion. However, Murdock didn't strike her as a man who would be very stricken with the pain of loss, not of others at least. A psychopath like that only cared for himself and his own gain. She doubted he had such strong and loving relationships that he would be bothered by the things Rei spoke about.

"For the next matter, about the pocket dimension they created, it holds for only twenty-four hours before collapsing. That is why both Nicoletta and Hisui must combine their powers to gently unweave what they made. Otherwise- well, you know. But that's not the only issue…" Rei crinkled her nose as she sat there for a second listening to the unspoken voice that no one else could hear, her face paling a bit as her eyes lifted from Nicoletta's to the damaged village. "She, um…" Rei swallowed thickly at all the destruction she was taking in. "The town… It helps focus their powers. It has to be repaired so that the symmetry of the two sides of the town is restored and so that the two of them can safely undo this dimension without… er…. issues or hiccups."

"So basically," Nami looked around. "All this destruction isn't very good in our endeavor not to accidentally end up dead."

"No…" Rei admitted rather slowly. "No, it might cause some people to… um… get a little mixed up? Sorta like a bad mesh of Law's power and well, not existing. So you might have a limb one minute and it gets left here when everything's said and done or your foot ends up as your hand. Sorta like that. She says it happened once or twice in the first few centuries they were working out the kinks, but luckily it only happened to the animals."

"That doesn't make _me_ feel better!" Chopper shouted as he was finally putting his gear away.

"So all we have to do is split into two teams. One to stay here and fix the town and the others to pursue these bastards that abducted Hisui." Franky surmised from it all. "Alright, super! No problem! I will definitely stay here to help with the fixing of the town."

"That would be best. But for now, we need to come up with a plan as to how to track down where these people went. I know they went to the western side. They wouldn't risk going to the eastern side, seeing as they are unfamiliar with it and cannot guarantee if the entire island is perfectly symmetrical or just this town. However, that's all I can surmise at this point." Rei deduced quickly. "I will need a bit more information about them if I am to plan anything, so I would suggest regrouping where there is information. Like a tavern or even if the newspapers are kept in the library, to go there to collect what they do have on them before focusing on going forward with any plan."

"In any case, it should be best if we can bring the fight to them and keep it as further from the town as possible," Cody suggested after hearing Rei's explanation.

"Very well. I need to contact the rest of my crew in the submarine anyway," Law started. "We can meet at the western tavern in two hours. That should be enough to get our injuries treated, and for me to make teams. Then we can plan out Hisui-ya's retrieval."

"Not without us!" A new voice brought the pirates' attention behind them, where a bearded brawny man stood with a couple of armed locals behind him. It was Yibor, holding an old heavy sword in his hand while helping an injured local with the other. The men of the town didn't look at their best, as they all had wounds and bruises, some of them being quite deep. They were patched up as best as they could manage, but little could be done in such a short time.

"Yibor-san," Miyako greeted. "You people already defended your town from the pirates. The injured ones should rest while the abled men help rebuild the town," she suggested.

"Don't think I'd just wait here while Hisui's kidnapped by pirates. I know best what a handful that scatterbrain can be." The man walked over to the resting dragon. "I watched these two play at our festival an' bring happiness tha our town since I was but a wee lad. I ain't lettin' no man stand between them! An' I certainly won't let 'em get away with what they did to our town an' people!" He gritted his teeth in anger as he watched the exhausted dragon with pain in his eyes.

Law frowned at the man's stubbornness. "You lot are heavily wounded, you would just slow us down and be a burden." He knew this man won't listen unless he is straight and honest with him. The captain never had a need to sugarcoat his words anyway, so there was no need to start now.

"He's right, Yibor," Rei turned her head when a new voice came from the other side of the town and other townsmen lead by Valjean came up to the angrier half. "We are upset too, but what would your death accomplish? Only Hisui-san and Nicoletta's agony and guilt for being the cause. They would have to live with that. I know they have long lives and at times it seems as if they have very little understanding of what goes on outside this _one_ day, but don't think she doesn't know your name or that she won't know if you died- especially today. If you die today, she will remember that for the rest of her long life." The other man reached out for the bigger man's weapon. "Don't make either of them live with that."

"Valjean...," Yibor started as if wanting to protest, but after those words, he had no strength left to oppose them. He knew the other man was right. Closing his eyes, Yibor shook his head with a deep sigh. "I understand..." He slowly released his old sword and handed it over to Valjean. "I will help find all men that can still do work and start rebuilding our town. With us who know the schematics by heart and are born builders and woodcutters, it should be done well before midnight."

"Thank you," Valjean nodded at his friend, glad that he understood their plight. With Nicoletta as invested in the town as she was, it was slightly easier for him to see how deaths affected her. She tried not to kill, only because she knew she had to live with it for a long time. That was why it had been very big of her to adopt Blitzen when his parents had died.

Speaking of Blitzen…. "Nicoletta!" The teenager was running across the plaza, a box under his arm as if he had been doing something before all of this had gone down. He rushed to her, landing on his knees as he came to a stop, setting the wrapped box aside as he lightly touched one of her ears. "Nicoletta!"

"She's fine, just tired." Chopper consoled him, only causing the teen to nod before hugging her.

"If you _ever_ do something so stupid again-!" He next roared as he began to lecture the long lived being, who rolled her eyes at his words.

The pirates felt sweat trickle down the back of their heads when they saw the almost-comical scene of a young lad lecturing a dragon, and the said dragon rolling its eyes like a teenager would to their parents' speeches.

Law returned them back on track as everyone now became distracted from their previous conclusion. "If we are done here, the Heart Pirates will be returning to our submarine. In two hours precisely we meet at Madam Shiba's Den," he reminded them.

"It just makes a person want to show up late when he states it all bossy like that," Rei mumbled to Zoro, who chuckled under his breath at her words. Her and Law had to be the most comical thing to watch when the two of them started to try to piss each other off.

"Yeah, yeah, two hours." Luffy parrotted before looking at the wrapped package. "Hey! What's that?" He was once more distracted from what was going on.

The older captain gave him a disapproving scowl as the boy _already_ looked like he had forgotten everything they agreed on. As usual, the young Strawhat didn't seem dependable at all, though by now, Law learnt exactly how deceiving his demeanor was. He will just have to rely on the strategist and the rest of their crew to drag the boy along and remind him of their plan, which they had to do constantly if this Luffy was anything like the one from the Heart pirates' world.

"Don't worry, we'll get Luffy to the ball before the stroke of midnight. Don't get your knickers all in a twist about it, dear prince charming." Rei sassed as she temporarily forgot that this wasn't her brother. Her eyes widened. "Oh, sorry. Wrong Law." Though her words weren't too sincere.

Law gave her a dark glare in response as he didn't expect such a snarky remark to come his way. He returned his calm mask of expression shortly after, but the Hearts were already watching him warily with sweatdrops, glancing between Rei and their captain.

"Now, now, remember what we talked about playing nice," Miyako whispered to him, though part of her couldn't help but feel amused by his startled reaction. She could feel the icy mood slowly forming around him.

"Nevermind...It's not like I would be so easily provoked by such a childish comment," he started, slowly turning around to leave. "...I'm taking my scalpels with me for when we meet next time," he added nonchalantly.

"Oy!" Miyako gaped, hurrying after him to dissuade him from the idea. Even though he said Rei's remark didn't bother him, it obviously did since he was once again back on the idea of dissecting her.

"Wait for us," the rest of the Heart Pirates called out, running after the couple and heading towards their docked submarine.

"Okay cool! I'll just bring mine that I've confiscated then! I'll be happy to show you how well I can use them to _stab_ at people who try to dissect me!" Rei called after him, completely unfazed by the threat, before leaning towards Zoro and muttering. "Sheesh, no matter what world he's from, he's so _touchy_. He's such a spoilt princess at times, sulking or throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get his way."

Despite the severity of the situation, Zoro threw his head back and laughed loudly. Law was quickly going to learn that Rei wasn't going to take his bossiness or even care remotely about his image. In her mind, he was her big brother and she, his little sister. That would never disappear, despite dimensions. It was too ingrained in her to snark at him at every given moment.

This version of their alliance would be interesting indeed.

~...~

Hisui was roughly tossed onto wet ground from Brill's shoulder. Ever since he awoke from his unconsciousness, he was roughly manhandled and tied up. A click was heard as a cloaked figure all in black put the final shackle around his neck, that was connected to the stone wall of the cell. Everything around was dark and cold. The cell was in stone, with droplets of water trickling down the walls and making the area damp. He tested the restrains on his wrists and feet, but soon realized they were too strong for him to break. Murdock used some kind of wire that only cut deeper in the skin if he tried to wriggle his hands out of it. Even his mouth was gagged, but that soon changed as the captain pulled the cloth out of his mouth, giving Hisui some more room to breathe. He coughed a few times before glowering at the pirate.

"Why are you doing this?"

Murdock only smirked in response, "You seem awfully calm for someone who just got kidnapped."

The bard gave the other man a fierce glare. Even though his demeanor might seem collected, he was very much upset. "I assure you, I am anything but calm. I saw what you did to our town and its people! What was the point in all that violence?"

Murdock crouched down in front of the man, staring at Hisui's eyes with his piercing dark ones. He had a hungry look, as if his prey was right in front of him and waiting to be snatched. "You," the captain answered simply.

There was something in his tone of voice that Hisui couldn't quite decipher, but it made his chest tighten with angst. He slowly swallowed, giving the man a more cautious look. Then suddenly he opened his mouth, ready to use what little was left of his powers to try and stop the time around him. Unfortunately, he was seen through and before he had the chance to speak, a cold knife was pressed on his throat.

"Don't," the cloaked figure warned with a voice that hid no bluff in it. "I can sense when you try to use your powers. I don't particularly want to hurt you, but I will do what I must," the voice warned.

Murdock smirked, glancing at the cloaked form. "Ligeia here is the one who helped me find you. Her senses are extraordinary so I would refrain from trying to trick her. Even someone as old and experienced as you can be seen through by her," he talked in amusement.

Realizing it was no use, especially since he was already almost out of juice for his devil fruit powers considering how much it was needed to open and sustain the merge for the island, Hisui gave up for now and decided to preserve his energy for later when a chance arises. "Why did you do all this," he asked again.

Murdock grinned as if he was just waiting for that question. He stood up, starting his explanation, "It's simple really. I need you for your powers." He saw the bard open his mouth, but cut him off before the young man even tried to deny any of it, "I know you ate the Toki Toki no Mi and have the power over time. And with your help,-" he pointed at the bard, "I will become timeless!"

The bard frowned. He knew from the moment he met Murdock on the street that the man was up to no good. He had a feeling that he had something he wanted from him, but Hisui never expected him to go as far as attacking the whole town. He was hoping to settle this between them somewhere alone where no other people could be hurt, so that's why he waited at that park for so long, hoping Murdock would take that chance to appear and reveal what was it that he wanted. Alas, Hisui didn't know that by then Murdock had already set a trap that was waiting at them at the town square. The captain had done his research extensively, and knew the ritual would take place there, even if he didn't yet know what the ritual would entail. But now, Hisui finally understood what the man was after. It was the same thing all egomaniacs wanted; to be immortal.

"You want me to freeze your time and stop you from aging," Hisui disclosed blankly. He wasn't surprised by this and it wasn't the first time someone had asked this of him. Yet Hisui's answer was always been the same; No. Because rarely did people understand how much pain it actually involved to be immortal, seeing your friends and family die while you are left forever alone. "Don't you understand…you will watch everything around you perish, knowing there's nothing you can do to help them. You should live the rest of your life with the people you lo-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Murdock's hand grabbed his neck and tightened around his throat. The bard choked with a start, slowly losing his breath as he felt the crushing grip. It wasn't easy to choke a grown man with just one hand, but judging by his grip, Murdock appeared to be stronger than any regular human. The pirate still held a smile on his face, but it looked twisted now that his eyes had a feral gleam in them. Hisui could see the sparks of insanity in them.

"Love? Loved ones? All pretty words that mean nothing to me," Murdock started, his voice eerily calm even as he choked the other man.

Beside them, Brill showed no expression other than the constant frown the fishman always had on his face. Ligeia also remained silent, their expression and thought unknown since the large hood hid everything.

Captain Murdock, known as The Huntsman, took out the large hunting knife that brought him the infamous nickname on his bounty poster. He continued his speech, the other hand lightly loosening from Hisui's neck although not letting go. With his other hand, he brought the knife to Hisui's eye, as the bard went into a coughing fit when air finally entered his lungs again. "You _will_ give me what I want. Use your powers on me and nobody has to die. Refuse, and I start killing your little town friends one by one…starting with that woman you brought from the other side. Your answer?"

Hisui glared at the man again, the fire in his eyes lighting up the amber color of his irises. "You don't understand what you're doing," he started, his voice hoarse from the strain on his throat a while ago. "If something happens to Nicoletta or me, we can't dissolve the merge and put things back the way they were. If we don't do it in time, this whole dimension that we created will cave in and we will _all_ die!"

Despite the grave warning that even made Murdock's two henchmen glance at each other in silence, the captain's smile didn't even fall from his face. It made Hisui's blood run cold, realizing that the pirate couldn't care less about such a predicament. "I don't think you understand, young man. You're coming with us" the captain grinned, even more amused by Hisui's shocked expression. "As soon as the dust settles and we find an opening, we will leave this island. Once we leave the area of the pocket dimension that you two created, we will be safely back in our world. What happens to Snowflake island is of no concern of mine," he explained.

"No….you can't!" Hisui shouted in panic. "I'll never help a monster like you!"

Grabbing Hisui's braided hair and pulling it so the man had no choice but to look straight into Murdock's eyes, the captain said, "Oh you _will_ do as you're told. I have many means to persuade you, until you will be beginning for your death. But I won't let you die even then. You are my most precious tool now, Hisui Klaus, and I will use you until you wear off and break. Your powers are mine!"

The bard gritted his teeth, unrelenting to show any signs of pain that Murdock was inflicting on him. "What's the point of me living if everyone else dies…," he growled. The only reason he made himself immortal was to spend his life with his lovely toymaker. If she was to die, what point would there be for him to continue on living. He would gladly unfreeze his time and follow her soon afterwards.

The captain simply smirked at the bard's stubbornness. "Then how about I give you a choice. My crew tells me that woman of yours is quite a curious jewel as well. She must be exhausted from using her powers, just like you, so it won't be hard to kidnap her too."

"You leave Nicoletta alone!" Hisui glared at the man. The usual gentle demeanor of the bard was completely gone now.

However, the pirate only put a finger up to silence the bard, signifying he wasn't finished. "If you give me what I want, my men will take her with us. That way, you get her, I get my immortality, and we all get what we want and live happily ever after!" Murdock raised his hands in the air with a high voice, laughing. His grin suddenly disappeared as he pierced the other with his mad eyes. "Choose! If you agree to my terms, you will sacrifice the town, but have your woman and you will both escape with us. If you deny me, she dies here with the whole island and I will just torture you into obeying me. Well….the town is screwed either way," Murdock shrugged as if just realizing it. He found the whole thing rather amusing and he was having fun. His smile was back on his cold features as he started at the bard, "Make your choice."

* * *

Glossary:

 _Yawarakai-Te_ – Gentle Hand

 _Toki_ \- Time

Shimo Shuuki - Frost Autumn Air

Yuuyake - Afterglow


	4. Chapter 4

This is a collaboration story between **Volleys-chan** and **BloodyMarryMe**

Hey guys, the fourth part is here! It's going pretty fast so hopefully we'll have the next part out soon, although we are both quite busy at the moment. We hope you'll enjoy this part as well. Have fun and enjoy! :D

* * *

 **Adventure on Snowflake Island**

Even though Rei had the urge to show up to the tavern _after_ two hours, she was there long before that time, going over the data that her and her crewmates had collected. Sanji had done her a huge favor alongside Brook to run back to the Sunny and collect her various notebooks and transcripts and even her bound booklet of pirate posters that she had amassed throughout her young life. Kaito had teased her that she was a pirate fanatic, but at this moment, her vast knowledge and tendency to hoard any and all information about other pirates was coming in handy.

Robin and Nami had gone to the library and had made several trips back and forth with newspaper articles pertinent to their search, though Robin had also slipped in any information about these Heart pirates so that the young strategist knew who she was handling in this moving chess match of hers.

Luffy and Zoro had gone off with Nicoletta, who had regained enough energy to shift into her much more human form, since Rei refused to let the dragon be by herself. The first way that anyone would get someone in Hisui's position to cooperate was to threaten loved ones. Franky had gone with the group as well to collect the schematics that Nicoletta had kept from when she originally designed the town. The four of them had come back and with all the information that now Usopp, Nicoletta, and Franky were pouring over as they tried to figure out if only the shipwright was needed to lead the team that would be staying or if the sharpshooter should stay and help as well. Yibor, Valjean, and even young Blitzen were out and about trying to start on the repairs while the pirates came up with a battle plan. Zoro was taking a short catnap now that there were plenty of people to watch Nicoletta so he could be rested enough for when he was needed for battle. He really only got three hours a night with a multitude of naps throughout the day anyways, so his sleeping schedule had been the least disturbed by these unexpected events.

Sanji was now making food, having ' _politely'_ dismissed Madam Shiba's staff in his usual aggressive way when dealing with men. He had been making a ton of food that not only Rei had been devouring between her research, but Nicoletta and Luffy. The latter because he was a glutton and needed no other reason to be hungry. However, Nicoletta had brought back an interesting photo album as well, one that she seemed to think would lift Rei's spirits when her frustrations got the best of her. She hadn't opened it yet, but she made a mental note to do so when there was time. She had a feeling that Nanami's photograph was in there at least a couple times and it would be nice to see a picture she didn't own of the gypsy woman.

Chopper had been treating everyone's injuries and at the moment was finishing up bandaging up Rei's arm, scolding her about keeping it quiet when it had needed to be treated. Her jacket was off, as were her gloves. Her swords were on the table, though her hunting knife was still tucked in its holster on her back, and she had every intention of tending to them before leaving to fight. At the moment, she was actually waiting for Nami to come back with a spare outfit, because there was no way she was going to fight some actual badass pirates in a flimsy skirt when she preferred to wear something more durable like leather.

By the time two hours was up, Rei was still jotting down notes as she came up with her conclusion at what she could ordain from newspapers, wanted posters, and any matching intel from her world- which had been very scarce and few, but not an empty endeavor by any means. Robin was with her, still sorting through a few more newspapers to see if there was anything that she had missed, but all in all, the two were ready for a debrief with the Heart captain.

The Heart Pirates did some preparations of their own. After coming back to the submarine, all of the wounded ones were treated in the infirmary, though only Sam was slightly more seriously injured as the piece of stone hit his leg muscle. He was told to stay in the infirmary, despite his protests. Law held a meeting in the galley to decide on their following actions. He broke the crew into four teams to do this as efficiently as possible, considering time was of the essence. Dawn was already upon them, and the first rays of morning light broke through the windows. Not only did they not have a wink of sleep last night and spent a good portion of it fighting, but they won't have any today either, until they revert the world back to normal again. They only had until the stroke of midnight to separate the dimensions again, yet they still had no idea where the kidnapped bard was held.

The first team, that consisted of Jean Bart, Kai, Mori, Sasha, Soujiro, a very reluctant Sam, and Ben who stayed with him in the infirmary, were left behind to guard the submarine just in case any more pirates get some wild ideas. In case the submarine needed to submerge quickly or be moved, Jean Bart was there to sail and keep an eye on things. They exchanged den den mushi so that the ship could stay in contact with Trafalgar if anything happens. The second team mostly consisted of mechanics and was led by their head mechanic Penguin, to help the townspeople rebuild their town before the deadline. Munk also went with them, since his brawny body and strength should be quite useful when helping on construction. Everything had to be prepared and ready for when they bring Hisui back. The third team was to patrol the streets of town for any suspicious activities or in case the pirates decided to come back for a second round. Eli, Ari, Sai, Zeek, Garry and Shachi were picked for the job. The final team was formed by Law, Miyako, Bepo, Cody and Joshua, who decided to help look for Hisui with some of the Strawhats. Law made sure that each team had at least one medic present just in case something happens and gave each head of the team a den den mushi to stay in contact.

When everything has been settled, the Heart Pirates went back to town, already making arrangements with the locals to help with rebuilding and town safety, and slowly put their plans into motion. Law took his fourth team, the ones who will accompanying him to find Hisui (and kill Murdock, he added), to meet the Strawhat pirates at the tavern.

By the time they decided to meet it was already early morning. The sky was clear and sunny, although the sun provided little warmth, not even melting the snow around town. Now that the cover of night was lifted, they could clearly see the destruction yesterday's attack had caused. The town square was filled with rubble and holes created from the explosions. It looked like a war zone with numerous trenches dug all around. Some of the houses had holes in their walls and roofs, and the glass windows of shops were smashed. Some trees and houses were even burnt, and the locals fought to put out the fires all night.

"It's horrible," Miyako muttered as she gazed around at the devastation.

"It will be much worse than this if we don't stop the Sea Rats," Law answered.

He already warned the locals to keep a close watch at the docks and tight security for anyone who wished to leave the island, but by the time they arrived, the Sea Rats' Carrack was already abandoned. The pirates knew they wouldn't have time to escape the island and that they would be stopped at the docks, so they must have hid somewhere else. At least that was one piece of good news; knowing that they haven't already left, which would mean certain death for everyone in this town.

"So yer back," Yibor called out, happy to get a helping hand from the pirates. "I was worried ye decided ta leave an' abandon us ta our fates," the man said jokingly, although there was a hint of gratitude in his eyes as if a part of him was truly scared that it would happen and relieved that it didn't.

"Law wouldn't do that," Miyako frowned, though she could understand why Yibor would think that. Law wasn't the most open person and it took a lot of time to finally understand what the man was truly thinking. With his cold demeanor and even colder words, it was hard to see the real man hidden underneath; one that actually did give a damn about others. At least the ones he found worthy of his interest, the girl remembered with a sigh.

The large man smile at the samurai, scratching his beard in thought. "I know…I were wrong. Ya lot ain't half bad."

He greeted Munk who offered his help, along with the Hearts' mechanics, and they all headed off to start their work on the town.

It was just ten minutes before their estimated time to meet with the Strawhats when they finally reached the tavern. Even before they opened the doors, they could smell the delicious scent of food coming from the building. All of the Heart pirates had a quick breakfast at the galley during their meeting, but even so, their mouths still drooled with the thought of all the amazing food that must be affiliated to that wonderful smell. Before they even knew what they were doing, Cody, Bepo and Joshua slammed the doors open like a pack of hungry wolves that haven't eaten in weeks.

"What's that smell?!" They asked in unison, darting their eyes towards the kitchen that was just behind the counter.

Miyako and Law walked after them with a bit more grace, trying to ignore the three pirates who passed the table the Strawhats were sitting at and made a B line to the counter to try and peek inside the kitchen and see what was cooking.

As expected, the tavern was deserted at this time of day as it got busiest at night, after everyone finished their hard work and came for a pint to relax and enjoy each other's company. The other reason why it was particularly abandoned today with no soul around except for the pirates, was because the whole town was still in distress and busy from the previous night.

Inside the kitchen, Sanji was cooking up a storm, quickly making multiple plates to sate the hunger of his nakama, especially Nicoletta's and Rei's since both women had used a lot of energy (Luffy could wait his turn for all he cared, but then the rubber teenager would try to take Rei's or Nicoletta's. And _that_ wouldn't do so he was making food to keep him from grabbing at the others' plates), but Rei had asked of him to be nice and make something for any of the Heart Pirates that showed up. He didn't mind Miyako, however, he wasn't keen on cooking for the picky Heart captain or any of his men. In the end, when he noticed the hungry stares of the three pirates, he relented to adhere to Rei's request and started to make a few dishes for them.

"Shall we begin?" Law sat down at the same large table where Rei and the others were sitting, and the samurai found a free seat next to his. She was surprised by the amount of papers on the table, surely all research for this case. Law took out papers of his own, all maps of both eastern and western sides of the town and the whole island, that he dug up in the library previously.

Even before Luffy or anyone else had time to answer his previous question that was rather rhetorical anyway, the captain begun, "If my predictions are correct, the Sea Rats are still on this island so we still have a chance to retrieve Hisui-ya. If they manage to escape us, however, this whole island is doomed," he said in a matter-of-fact voice. "That is why I already separated my crew into teams to make our plans go smoothly. There are patrols on the docks and streets, just in case, with Shachi leading my patrol team. Also, Penguin is with others in town, helping with the rebuilding. I'm guessing some of your crew will want to join as well so you can contact them."

"Yes, Franky for sure, as well as Chopper. He wants to assist the town doctors since they are suddenly overwhelmed with patients and horribly understaffed for such an emergency, but let me go over the information before I really decide about the other two I was thinking about remaining in town." Rei agreed, though she wasn't too pleased that there hadn't even been a hello, thanks for showing up, have you progressed well with your data research? She was a bit cranky, having not slept since the sun had risen _yesterday_.

"However, our first priority should be finding Hisui-san and this is the team of the Heart Pirates that will be accompanying you," Miyako added. "Also…," she turned to Nicoletta, her gaze slightly guilty as she handed her an item in her hands. It was Hisui's lute that she found buried in the snow once she returned to the spot where Hisui was taken. Unfortunately, she found no clues to his whereabouts, only the instrument he left behind. "Here. Hisui-san dropped this, so I thought you'd want to give it back to him once you two meet again," Miyako smiled at the woman.

Nicoletta's eyes brightened at the lute and she took it gently out of the woman's hands as she began to dig around the hollow part of the lute. "Thank you very much, my dear. I was afraid that we had lost the only way of finding him." She pulled out a vivrecard from within, a smirk tugging at her lips.

The piece of paper moved lightly, turning towards the west just as Rei guessed the man would be held. Law leaned over the map of the island to see what would be the most probable place for the pirates to hide there. There was a large part of the western side shaded in a grey color, different than the rest of the white plains shown on the map. "What is this part here," the doctor asked suspiciously.

Nicoletta sighed when she saw it. "It's the area filled with caverns on the wetern side of the island. The area is enormous, with tunnels of caves connecting all over and even going underground…it's a labyrinth. It's perfect for a hiding place, but also very dangerous because it's easy to get lost there. The locals avoid going into those caves considering one can walk around them for ages and never find a way out again…and who knows what wild beasts lurk in those tunnels," she warned. She knew what Law was thinking about, but hoped the Sea Rats wouldn't be so brazen as to decide on such a dangerous hiding place. She was getting worried for Hisui again.

"Then that is most likely the place they hid in," Rei nodded after listening to the toymaker. "Good thing we have that vivecard to guide us to Hisui, even though the caverns.".

Nicoletta nodded with a smile. "We have a few failsafes in case something like this happened, but usually I have a Raiun here to manage the damage."

"So _that's_ why Nanami was present at the festival for all those years and then Midori. You hired the Raiun clan to take care of any issues that might arise… which means…" Rei's face melted into an annoyed expression as her eye twitched a bit in irritation. "Ri really _did_ send me this information and _not_ my contact."

"Midori did?" Nicoletta was only half-surprised. "That's probably why she isn't here. I heard that she suffered pretty heavy damage during your campaign in Dressarossa, but I didn't think it was that critical. That she-devil kills Seakings for sport, so I thought that the reports must have been exaggerated. She must not have felt like she could handle the situation if she was to send you in her stead, though that must mean you have your own connection to the Raiun."

"Let's just say I made honorary member and end it there." Rei didn't really want to talk about the events that had lead up to her getting the tattoos that bound her to the Raiun. She was still rather upset about Fire Fist's death. "Anyways, now that we have a means to locate him," she glanced over at Law, "I have been able to dig up a few things on these Sea Rats."

Hearing this, the other three Hearts also joined the conversation, examining Rei's papers over her shoulder.

"That's great. The more we know about them, the easier it will be to fight them," Cody smiled at her in gratitude.

"Tch, look at him go into his Casanova mode," the other medic muttered in displeasure.

His crewmate gave him a glare while frowning in response, but stayed quiet.

"Indeed. There is always an advantage to having information." Rei agreed with the blue haired Heart before pausing and giving the two medics a charming smile. "Such as perhaps your names? I don't believe I heard much about _any_ of you, other than Pen, Chi, and Bepo-kun. Which is a shame since I really adore the Heart pirates in my world. They all are really wonderful, diverse people and I can only assume that you lot are the same- if Law's tastes are the same _here_ as they are there. He always had a knack for picking talented men and women."

As soon as the trio heard her words, they started grinning with satisfaction, as they scratched the back of their heads. They all had a slight blush on their faces and even Bepo looked honored by her words. "Well it's nothing really….We're just doing our best…" The three Heart Pirates started answering at the same time, all of them slightly embarrassed, but mostly happy by her compliments. Even Law smirked at her words of praise towards his taste, though he was more amused by his comrades that were so easily swayed by a couple of sweet words from the woman. Miyako just chuckled as she watched the trio, before giving Rei a mirthful stare. She knew the other girl was crafty, knowing exactly what to say to get the Hearts wrapped around her finger and compliant. They suddenly became very friendly towards her, after only a few of Rei's smartly chosen words. Not that Miyako minded. She was actually quite entertained by it and had to give the girl credit where credit was due. She knew the Hearts well enough to know what to say when she needed some minor manipulation to be done, but Rei had only just met them so it was admirable she could already handle them so well. Then again, most of those guys were a simple bunch, easily swayed by compliments of a beautiful girl, Miyako remembered. It wasn't surprising that they took a liking to Rei.

Rei noticed the other kenshi's stare and gave her a quick toothy smile before winking, eventually pressing her initial request after watching the three sway happily at her words for a bit. "I _would_ really like your names, however, I can't just call you two 'medic one' and 'medic two'. That would be extremely rude. You two have names, and I would like to know them."

"In that case, I would be 'medic one', _Ouch_!" Joshua started with a grin, only to get a whack on the head by his crewmate.

"I'm Cody, and this is Joshua," the blue-haired man finally answered.

The other medic fixed the black cap back on his head before adding in a mumble while glaring at his friend, "You can call me Josh."

"It's nice to meet you, Rei-chan," Cody gave her a little nod as a greeting.

"Oh, Rei-chan is it?" She teased, but she had a light laugh on her lips as she continued. "Only if I get to call you Cody-kun and Josh-kun." She winked at them. "I am delighted to make both of your acquaintance." Rei kept that charming smile on her face and a humored look in her eyes as she reached out and offered both of them a hand shake. "May we all work well together."

Both of them seemed delighted by the idea, not bothered at all. She could probably call them whatever she liked and they wouldn't mind. "Not at all, please do," Cody answered.

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Joshua smirked in response.

"Then, you can call me Bepo," the polar bear suddenly exclaimed as if not wanting to be left out.

"That's how everyone calls you anyway," the redhead jabbed at the first mate, rolling his eyes.

The bear just realized that fact, his mood suddenly changing as he bowed his head with a depressed sighed. "You're right," he agreed, apologizing for no good reason.

 _*So weak…,*_ all of the pirates thought, though they were already used to Bepo's sudden dark moods.

"How about I call you Bepo-kun?" Rei smiled genuinely. She had a special place in her heart for her brother bear. "That's what I call the other Bepo. He's such a sweetie~! I have no doubt that you are the same." She blinked as she thought of something, eyes lighting up a bit. "Silly question, but since things seem a little different here, are you the navigator? In my world, Bepo is the lead navigator in Law's crew. Also, are you a combat expert as well?"

"Right, I like that," the bear smiled widely at the idea. His blush never faded, only reddening more when he heard her call him a sweetheart. "I completely agree with you," he chimed. The other Heart Pirates just sweatdropped at his sudden confidence boost, even though he was still depressed just moments before. The medics of the crew seriously wondered from a long time ago if that bear was actually bipolar, but nobody wished to test him. They didn't want to make their captain angry, considering how protective he was of his first mate. "Yes, I studied navigation back home on Zou," the bear smiled widely again. "When our crew was just Captain, Shachi, Penguin and me, I used to be the navigator, but now, I just do my first mate duties instead, since we have Sai and Jean Bart," he explained, beaming with pride as he spoke. "I also trained martial arts since the Mink tribe is famous for their strong warriors. We all go through training so that we could protect our home if the time comes," he added.

"Ah, so it is a _little_ different, but not by much. You're still quite the reliable bear." Rei nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. I am half-surprised that Jean exists there too, but Law did meet him in Sabaody… Interesting." She bowed her head in thanks before turning back to Law. "Now that I have been properly introduced, shall I proceed with my findings?"

The captain of the Hearts nodded, "Please do, Miss Rei. Time is of the essence now and I would like to be the one to make the first move here, before the Sea Rats have a chance to act again," he explained. He found some of what Rei said about the differences in their worlds just now interesting, but he preferred to not waste time on pleasantries and focus on the problem at hand first.

"Very well." She pushed out her booklet, flipping from a few tabs as she showed two of the members, but outside of their names and appearance, their pictures and bounty were completely different from the ones that she then pushed forward that were not bound in the booklet. "These ones," she tapped the stray pieces of paper, "Are the wanted posters for these individuals in _your_ world, while these ones," She flipped between the two different posters. "Are from our world. The Sea Rats don't exist on the eastern side and so Brill and Glenavon are on completely different crews. However, that gives us the intel that the marines have posted about them and follow-up reports that Robin and I have been given through our connections with the revolutionists. Neither of them have super special powers, but Brill is an expert in Fishman Karate and Smithies is just an ass with an oversized axe."

Joshua snickered at her words, remembering the large jerk that he already had a fight with once since getting here. "I couldn't agree more with that last part."

She then pointed to the wanted poster of the cloaked individual. "This one is known as Ghost Light. It struck me as strange because this person has been with the Sea Rats for some time, but it seems that she had a reputation _before_ joining the crew. Her name is Ligeia Zabat and according to what the Marines have released to the public about her, she has a mysterious ability to track things and she attacks with _blue_ fire."

"Ah! Madam Zabat!" Nicoletta recalled the name. "I've had dealings with her before. She died in our world at least a century ago and the Marines confiscated her devil fruit the first chance they got after locating it. It's not the most _powerful_ devil fruit in the world, but it can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. I believe it is called the Tama Tama no Mi."

"Wait, the _Tama Tama no Mi_? I know who has that power now." Rei blinked in surprise. "Her name is Alexandria Rayne, she works at Marineford as their head librarian. I got to talk to her a bit when I…" _*Infiltrated their base pretending to be Mihawk's niece….*_ Yeah, she wasn't going to finish that sentence. "I met her before. She's basically a ghost fire. A will-o-wisp. She can't have any direct contact to sunlight or she can't hold a physical form. Basically, she's a ghost."

"A ghost! Scary!" Brook cried at the idea, but paused as he thought about it. "Ah, but in a way I'm nothing but a ghost haunting these dead bones. Yohohohohohoho~ my bad!"

Franky and Usopp shook their heads at the skeleton as they tried to ignore him. However, Chopper looked a bit faint at the idea of dealing with a ghost. Thriller Bark had been more than enough horror to endure for the poor reindeer. He mildly thought that it was fortunate that Nami had yet to get back from getting their things so she hadn't heard _that_. Also, he was really glad that he had volunteered to stay, because, again, he was _done_ with scary ghosts trying to kill him.

"Yes, so since she's already a spirit, she will at one point come to the peak of her powers and basically be immortal- as long as she obeys the rules of her powers. Madam Zabat did not and died, but I think she did so because she was tired of living all alone in this world." Nicoletta commented.

Rei looked a little sad at that, reminded at how tired Gin had been of living. How long had the woman lived before she decided that it wasn't worth it anymore and surrendered herself to the Marines, leading to Rei meeting the pirate woman and Gin's eventual death. She must have tried to carry on for some time before quitting. Rei shook her head a bit to refocus herself and off of Gin. "So now we know a bit more about her. Based on the info on her personality and track record, she doesn't seem like the type to do this, or go along with someone of Murdock's kind, so perhaps she has a different agenda. She might not be so loyal to the cause like the rest of them, so we could use that to our advantage. Maybe she's stuck with it somehow, like a job gone awry, instead. We might be able to utilize that somehow."

"But how do we defeat a ghost," Cody asked in a frown. "Won't attacks...just go through her?"

"It's still only a devil fruit power...in that case haki should work on her just like any other logia," Miyako commented with a shrug.

"Which is fine if you are a proficient haki user," the medic huffed, furrowing his eyebrows. "So what if any of us who can't use Busoshoku haki well run into her?"

"You said it yourself...run," Miyako gave him an evil grin with amusement gleaming in her eyes.

"You're _hilarious_ ," Cody responded with a smirk, going with the flow of her teasing. "I'd like to see this comical side of yours the next time you need your burnt fingers treated after another accident in the galley, Miss Haki Expert," he continued.

"I see your point; we all have our strengths and weaknesses," the samurai concluded, sticking her tongue out at the medic who just chuckled at her in return.

"And _her_ weakness would include any light that's brighter than firelight. Alexandria dreads even having to sit in a room with the florescent lights on, even with all the protective layers she wears. She prefers only candlelight and often her _own_ fire." Rei remembered that much with the small amount of time she had been acquainted with the young woman.

"It sounds more like we should try to address her situation and see if we can't change her mind about her affiliation with them." Robin deduced. "I have been in a similar situation as she is, and perhaps, if I can persuade her that we are _strong_ enough, she will quit whatever allegiance she has with them. However, if I do fail to persuade, I will probably need backup since my ability to use haki in that regard has yet been fully realized."

"Alright, I think that can be arranged." The young crimson eyed woman agreed with the archeologist. She returned her attention to her research and pointed at the last four posters she had yet addressed. "There is nothing about these four in my world, but what I could find about them in yours is that Murdock is the captain. His moniker is The Huntsman and he is known to put poison on his weapons from time to time. Not much else about him other than he's merciless and rather insane, not too much to go on since they say that practically about _every_ pirate crew out there." She tapped the next poster. "This… _person…_ is known as Ebbie. Kiddo is the moniker and there isn't much about him- her- _it_ either, except that it is freakishly strong and takes too much enjoyment out of inflicting harm on others. Again, not much, but they haven't been around long enough for the newspapers to really have more information about their individual traits."

She tapped the next one. "This one is known as 'The Monk'. His real name is Kamui and he's trained in the ancient techniques of - hell if the Marines know. He _is_ a monk though and that gives us a severe disadvantage due to the fact that different monasteries focus on different fields. Oz came from a monastery that focused in Crane Kung Fu as well as Leopard style while Axsel came from a monastery that focused on Monkey Kung Fu as well as bo-jutsu. So, unless I know where he trained, I can't say what he specializes in. However, from what I briefly saw, he seems to be _chanting_ , so that might tie in. I know that there are _ways_ to use words to focus qi, but I don't know if someone who doesn't have dragon blood can _do_ such a thing. That would have been a question I'd asked of Oz or Axsel, but _you_ don't have them on _your_ crew."

The samurai hummed in thought. "In Wano country, some monasteries are also proficient in various kinds of combat. I do not know much about them all, but I have seen monks do some minor manipulation of elements and chakra before...what you would call qi. I saw a monk that could emphasize his physical strength by doing so, and another that could even change form. I think many ninja in Wanokuni use some techniques that require this qi energy. So I would not be surprised if this monk had a power such as that," she concluded.

Rei was greatly intrigued by the idea. Temporarily taken off topic as she continued going down that tangent. "Interesting. I know that dragons are naturally inclined to one element of qi, but they can use it in more than just one way. Though there is a bit of their element in everything they do, like Mizu dragons can make it rain by manipulating the moisture in the air while Denkou dragons can manipulate metal objects through changing their electricity into a form of magnetism. They can do some basics that I guess would fall into those same categories as what you mentioned: change form, emphasize strength, sense life energy… and even draw from it if they train hard enough. I know this one Aisu dragoness who had lost a wing in a battle against the nest's previous alpha, but, by learning how to constantly manipulate qi, she could form a wing out of ice and use it nearly the same way by constantly molding it to mimic her sole wing, however, it put a great strain on her since it required a large amount of qi to accomplish. Are humans as proficient with qi in your world as dragons are naturally in mine or is this something that has to be honed over a great amount of years and is vastly limited to how much qi they have naturally?"

Miyako listened enticed by Rei's stories of dragons, her eyes glistening more and more in interest and excitement. Even since she was a kid, she read about such legends and could only dream about them in her imagination. Yet now, those stories were coming true before her very eyes. She soaked up the information given to her by Rei with great thirst for knowledge, wishing she could have witnessed everything the other girl talked about. "I am afraid it is not as easy to the humans to manipulate qi as it sounds for you dragons. It takes a lifetime of hard work and practice. Even though we are all aware of the energy that surges through all living beings and around them, only a handful can truly utilize it properly. That is because only a few have the patience and discipline needed to become a master in that field," Miyako explained. Her master talked about the flow of force in nature as it is also something that should be understood by kenshi as well, but that was different from molding the said force to your will. That was a specialty that took great time and effort. "It also depends on the amount of qi they have in them, as you mentioned, but I believe they use the qi from the nature to resupply themselves. Like a circle where they take the energy from nature and then use it for their techniques. It takes effort, so they can't use it constantly. Just like with all other techniques, the more they use them, the weaker they get as it takes a toll on their body," the girl added, remembering all she heard and read about the matter while she still lived in Wanokuni.

Rei listened with rapt attention, one of her hands jotting down notes as she kept eye contact with the other girl. "That's incredibly interesting. I think that might actually help if one of us has to go up against this monk and he _does_ have that ability." She gave a slight smile as she decided to address one thing that Miyako had said that hadn't been a hundred percent correct. "By the way, I am not a full-blooded dragon. I am what is called a Dragian. It's a sub-race that is both human and dragon, so while I do get some of the perks of a dragon, it's a much more diluted version. I can, however, manipulate qi as any Kasai can."

"While your devil fruit gives you the perks of an Aisu dragon, am I correct?" Nicoletta chipped in, turning away from what she was doing to add that part in. "These are your allies, dear, don't hold back on them, especially about the fact that you _can't_ swim."

"Right," Rei nodded with a sheepish look. "I did eat a zoan devil fruit that grants me the elemental opposite of my natural affinity. So I am both Kasai and Aisu because of it." And now Trafalgar Law had all the more reason to try to dissect her… _yay_.

Indeed, Law's mind was filled with questions, more arising with each word she spoke. He leaned a bit forward as if not to miss any word of the topic. Even their main goal was momentarily forgotten as he found something much more interesting to focus on right now. "You say you are a Dragian...a half-breed, but how does one become so? Is it really possible to create a child between a human and a dragon?" His logical brain was skeptical of that fact, considering everything he read of dragons was such that their anatomy was completely different than a human's. They were mainly reptiles, after all. True, these dragons can obviously change to a human form, but that doesn't mean they were the same species. It made little sense to him that there would even be a need for interspecies breeding.

"Those are excellent questions, but ones I highly doubt that young Rei here knows the answers to." Nicoletta laughed as she gave him a wiry smirk. "While a male human and a female dragon cannot reproduce, a female human and a male dragon can, but the male must take human form. There's a little bit of Old Magic thrown in too, but the spell was forgotten as was the rest of Old Magic. We haven't truly bred with humans in nearly a millennia or so. Some males will still breed with Dragian females, but that is about it."

"Eh? But then what about you and the bard? Isn't it strange for a human male and a female dragon to be together?" Joshua furrowed his eyebrows in thought, forgetting his manners and bluntly asking such a private question. Cody gave him a warning look, but the other pirate just shrugged. Just like his captain, Joshua was hardly a subtle one when it came to curiosity.

"I did not marry my husband to have children. I married him because I fell truly and deeply in love." Nicoletta admitted.

"Wait, _married?!"_ Rei turned around in her chair to look at the Munashi at the other table. "You just _married_ him? I thought dragons didn't uphold such frivolous bonds as marriage."

"True, usually we will bond with our love, but mine is stuck on the opposite side of this rift. If I shared _everything_ with him, I would have died of loneliness. To share a bond like that and have it severed for the majority of a year would be like missing a large piece of yourself." Nicoletta shook her head, a frown marring her lips. "Most dragons would never consider sharing such a deep bond with a human, even if they loved them. Humans normally aren't meant for such long lives. It would drive most mad eventually, so we relent and _marry_ according to _their_ custom."

"I think I understand...In a way, marriage was the only bond you and Hisui-san could have even when apart for so long," Miyako commented.

"Aye, lass, and a good marriage it has been. I have been married to him for nearly 700 years now." Nicoletta proudly announced.

"700 years!?" The Hearts couldn't help but be surprised as they exclaimed in shock.

"But you look so young," Bepo gaped.

"Lady, how old _are_ you?!" Joshua asked, his jaw still wide open.

Nicoletta scowled a bit, pouting at their comments. "I am _not_ that old! I am only thirty-two!"

"Centuries." Rei added in the forgotten time stamp to that sentence. "Dragians past a hundred and sixty years tend to count in decades and dragons in their adulthood count in centuries. But they usually only give you the 'I'm thirty-two' or 'I'm only twenty' like it doesn't matter that it's actually decades or centuries."

Cody put a hand over his face as his frame shook a little. "I have mixed feelings about this...she's such a beautiful woman, but also so old….," he murmured, as if he was still debating whether he should try to win her heart or not.

"She's also married!" Miyako whacked him upside the head, hoping to return him to his senses. Seems he was forgetting that important fact to his convenience. Sometimes she felt that Penguin and Shachi's womanizing ways where they were running after every pretty skirt rubbed off on him, although the medic wasn't much better, albeit more successful.

"That _better_ have been about Nicoletta." Rei growled. "I am literally only twenty-one years old."

Suddenly Cody's expression brightened up, as his despairing demeanor vanished completely. "Is that so," he asked with a cheerful smile. The other Heart pirates just shook their heads slowly.

"Sorry about that, don't mind those idiots please," Miyako sighed, giving Rei and Nicoletta an apologetic gaze.

Rei was merely grateful that Sanji hadn't heard Cody's words over the sounds of his cooking and Zoro was out of it. Including the fact that Nami wasn't there to witness this interesting little scene, that Chopper probably didn't understand, Luffy was too distracted by the table of food Sanji had already given him, and that Usopp was too good of a friend to even bring it _up_. Robin was entirely too amused, and Rei could see that Franky also had an upward curl to his lips, as if saving that tidbit to tease her with later. Even Brook was laughing quietly as he pretended to be fascinated by the piano he had discovered in the corner. She merely smiled at Miyako's words, trying not to be frustrated at her nakama who'd obviously tease her later about this.

"You humans and your obsession with time and _age_. I would have thought that pirates like yourself who live outside of the normal rules of society wouldn't have issue with it. I am old compared to _you,_ but my people take a long time to grow and mature. A baby draco does not enter its teenage years until their about a millennia in age. That's why we originally wanted a sub race to bridge the gap between us and humans. You are so finite to us, you live, you flicker out, and all that is left are the smoldering embers of your persevering memories in our hearts. By creating a sub-race that was a mix of both human and dragon, we had hoped to have it so that perhaps humans wouldn't flicker out as soon… or at least have an in-between for the two races that was the best of both races, but that didn't work out very well..."

"Why not," Bepo encouraged Nicoletta to continue.

"How do most humans treat merfolk? It's for the same reason. They see anything besides themselves as inferior. They scorn what is different. There is really only a handful of Dragians left in the world and Rei is possibly one of the very few _realized_ Kasai Dragians left. The Raiun are about three hundred strong and there are other tribes still out there, but there is possibly only about five thousand Dragians total left in existence."

"But why would dragons even bother with humans? Why try to prolong the lives of the human race?" Law seemed more interested about that part, considering Nicoletta already mentioned that they were looking for a race in between humans and dragons to help the humans with their short lives.

"For two reasons. The first is, that there isn't very many of us either. We are so long lived that we must be extremely careful about reproducing. We consume much and, if we do not take care, we could drain the world of its resources. There is only about fifteen hundred to two thousand dragons in existence and divide that into the fourteen elements we fall under. We each share an island with our elemental opposite, so about two hundred dragons on each island plus or minus some. The Dragons of New World have adapted. We took human form once we realized we could and hid among the people. In this form, we are smaller and consume less. The Dragons of Paradise found islands in the Calm Belt and lived isolated lives as what they truly are- dragons. You think my sense of time is shot to hell? They can only tell time by the ripening of our special fruit upon their ancient trees. They care not for humans, not after the atrocities done to their kin. While we stay back and observe, they have washed their hands completely of humans." Nicoletta shook her head, not agreeing with that philosophy at all. "Mainly, we wanted children. We loved children, but our race couldn't survive having tons of children, so we thought that we could make a sub-race to fulfill that longing, selfish as it was. The second reason is because we were beguiled by a certain clan of people who inspired us to try." Her eyes sparkled a bit as she looked at Law. "I think you might know the clan of which I speak of, _Water_."

"The D," he muttered. The man stayed in thought, his mind racing to take in all this new information. The dragons and their culture were completely entwined in the other world, so much that he found it curious how they didn't even exist in his. The other thought that occurred to him was just how useful it would be to have dragons in their world, or in his crew to be more exact. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. He cursed Strawhat's luck for getting such an interesting specimen on his side.

"It took me nearly _five_ years of searching to get that much information and you're practically giving it away to him!" Rei whined, recalling all her hard work of digging through history, searching from island to island on her travels and here Nicoletta was, telling Law whatever he wanted to know!

"He doesn't live in your world deary, he will never have another opportunity to quench his thirst of such questions, you have a _long_ life ahead of you, young drake. All your questions will eventually be realized and answered." Nicoletta told her. "Though I must tell you that any other questions you have about me or the dragon species will have to be put on hold. We should be concentrating on saving my husband, if you recall."

"Oh! Right!" Rei blushed. "Sorry, that got way off topic."

Trafalgar cleared his throat, only now remembering their main objective. "Of course," he added. "We should proceed with the Sea Rats' crew analysis."

Rei nodded before tapping the last one with a frown. "His name is _Doctor_ Harper Burrows. Again, new crew, and a vast amount of belligerence from the World Government to _properly_ warn its denizens about possible threats. All I know is that he _technically_ lost his doctor's license because of some of his rather disturbing experiments. I bet if you two weren't on opposite sides of the playing field, you'd _love_ to trade notes with the psychopath." Rei caught herself, coughing to clear her throat as she reminded herself to stop sassing the dark doctor who was _not_ her older brother figure. Nope. No sassing allowed. Not even if he got all the answers that she had to work hard for in but an instant.

Trafalgar narrowed his eyes at the woman dangerously. She was taunting him, no doubt, as if she had a problem with him. In that case, he would rather have her say it outright than reproaching him every now and then like this. However, he had no intention of backing down from a provocation. He gave her one of his most disturbing smirks as his eyes darkened while he stared at her. "You seem to know a lot about me, Miss Rei, yet you knowingly provoke _this psychopath_ ," he intentionally repeated her words. "Especially since I'm already itching to open you up and take a look inside."

The Hearts shut their mouths instantly as they shivered from the icy tone of their captain, followed by that evil grin of his that always appeared when the Dark Doctor talked about his disturbing hobby of dissecting his prey. They were already used to that dark side of him, but that didn't mean they liked to be present when he was in a slicing up mood.

Instead of being frightened by his expression and foreboding words, Rei threw her head back and laughed heartily. "First of all, Trafalgar," she began once she was able to gain control over her laughter. "I'd never insinuate that _you_ were a psychopath. A _high_ _functioning_ sociopath, without a doubt, but _never_ a psychopath. Not eloquent enough for you. _Especially_ since Dolfamingo is a psychopath. Secondly," Rei gave him a feral grin, her razor sharp teeth revealed as her pupils dilated into slits and her nails turned black and hard, curling as they slowly morphed into talons. "I've avoided being dissected for the last seven years. One day with _you_ will not change that." She gave him a fierce look for a few moments before her face gentled. She laughed rather good naturedly, her nails returning to normal as were her teeth and eyes. "I suppose I truly _should_ apologize for my behavior, but your face provokes me. Think nothing ill of it, I merely feel comfortable enough with the other Law that quips are constantly thrown between us. I have such a habit of it, I can't seem to shake it around you when I am not thinking about it."

Although the rest of his crew tensed in anticipation, just in case a struggle was to occur, Law's expressionless face never changed. He stared at the girl even as she morphed into a more animal-like form, which only interested him more rather than frightened him. His nodachi was right by his side, even though he had no intention of using it just as he didn't really have any intention of fighting with his own allies. It was counterproductive, a waste of time and energy. At least she didn't make the mistake of lumping him with that bastard Doflamingo, or he might of had a change of heart. As she returned back to her usual form, so did the tension in the room decrease. Her words actually brought a smirk back to the captain's lips, "I must say, you also have a way of making me want to respond. It's hard to resist bickering with you, Miss Rei," he noted though there was no malice in his words.

"So we shall agree to bicker then." Rei nodded. "I am completely fine with that." Her brother and her did more than bicker. The pranks and stunts they had pulled on each other would forever be ingrained into their memories, some even into their skin.

"Lucky for you, I am good at multitasking, so fighting enemies and bickering with you won't be an issue," he joked.

 _*Show off,*_ the rest of his crew thought together, although nobody dared to say it.

"Show off~" Well almost nobody. Miyako sang in a quiet voice, though purposely loud enough to hear.

Trafalgar snorted at her words, but he neither rebuked nor agreed with that statement.

"Is there anything you have a specific question about or some comments you'd like to include before I give you a breakdown of how _I_ think we should proceed." Rei returned to her profession tone, as she reached over and grabbed a bowl of food she had yet finished, trying to regain the energy she had given to Nicoletta earlier.

The pirate captain scratched his goatee in thought before shaking his head, wordlessly telling her to proceed.

"Oi," Sanji quickly cut in before Rei had a chance to begin again. "Let me just drop these off and then I'll leave you lot in peace." He had two trays full of food and with the balance only a practiced chef of a crew as wild as his had, he began to hand out the food with both trays balancing on one arm. "Here you go Rei-pyon~!" He set down a few more bowls of rice and various fish that Rei preferred in the morning as well as a stack of pancakes. "Robin-swan~!" He handed her the woman's favorite meal as well. He then set something down for Nicoletta, with a pleased smile at her happy expression. He glowered a bit as he gave Zoro his meal, waking the green haired swordsman from his nap by his very approach, and frowned as he quickly deposited Luffy's so the boy didn't _bite_ him on accident again. Franky, Usopp, Brook, and Chopper all got their meals as well, but the tray was not yet emptied.

"Here's one for Mi-ya-ko-swan~." He set down a dish and a bowl. "Cream cheese on toasted bagels with smoked salmon on the top and a bowl of Tamago-Kake-Gohan." He set down some green tea for her as well before turning to glance at Law, setting down a plate of onigiri with a serious expression on his face. "Salmon, tuna, and trout. Don't worry, no Umeboshi _or_ bread."

Law almost commented 'You finally remembered' to the blond cook, before he realized this Sanji was not the same one he had an argument with last time the cook was making him onigiri. Nevertheless, it seemed something similar must have happened since Sanji was so careful at serving him with his meal. "Thanks," the captain simply said instead, before taking one of the rice balls off his plate and into his mouth.

Miyako gave the blond a polite smile before taking the cup of tea in her hands. "Thank you Sanji-san, everything looks delicious. It appears you are a great cook no matter the world you're from," the girl chuckled.

"Ahhhhhh~! Miya-chwan is too kind to this humble chef!" Sanji couldn't help but gush happily at her gratitude.

"Don't encourage him or he'll follow you home," Joshua commented towards the samurai, as if the cook was some love sick dog.

In the corner of the room Zoro rolled his eye, but focused on eating. He wasn't going to bother. It was too damn early for this man's attitude and he had barely slept _at all_ since yesterday. He quickly stabbed at Luffy's hand that stretched over to steal some of his breakfast, quietly listening to Rei's conversation in case there was anything he'd need to add.

Sanji then turned on his heels and snagged up a plate with a generous amount of salted fish. "For Bepo-san." He placed the plate in the bear's paws before turning and looking at Cody and Joshua before handing them each a plate. "I wasn't sure what you two would like, so I made an omelet for both of you with bacon, ham, three types of cheese, spinach, onions, red bell pepper, a hint of garlic, and some of my own homemade ketchup on the side. If you don't like it, feed it to the glutton over there. He'll eat it, but don't expect me to cook you anything else."

The two medics felt drool form in the corner of their mouths just by listening to Sanji listing what's on their plate. "Thank you, Sanji-sama,~" they both sang in gratitude, before they started swallowing the food in front of them with large gulps.

He turned once more over to Rei with a pleasant smile on his face, looking rather proud at how he honored her request about being _nice_. "Rei-pyon, please inform me when Nami-chwan has returned so I may have her food ready."

"Alright," Rei couldn't help but smile mirthfully at his actions, despite the fact that he was using that damn honorific in front of these Heart pirates. She was more than appreciative of all his hard work preparing the food so that they could go into the battle with enough energy. "I or Robin will be sure to."

 _*Pyon?*_ The Hearts didn't miss the strange nickname even if the girl tried to pretend it never happened by quickly going on with the conversation. The two medics barely managed to contain their snickers, only because they wanted to be respectful to the strategist…plus she looked really dangerous when she started shifting in that half-dragon form of hers, so they didn't want to risk it.

"And you keep nagging us about calling you Miya-chan," Joshua whispered, even though he was one Heart Pirate that never calls her that unless it's to piss her off on purpose. "Bet that nickname looks pretty good to you now," he added with a chuckle.

She just rolled her eyes in return, sympathizing with the other girl since she knew what it was like to have an embarrassing nickname attached to her name.

"Hai~!" Sanji cheered as he twirled away, elated by her smile, and back into the kitchen to keep cooking.

As they started eating, Miyako noticed Rei's hands when she picked up the utensils. Small, barely visible scars were scattered on both her hands. She hadn't noticed them sooner as they were deep in the conversation even after Rei had removed her gloves, but now she wondered how hadn't she noticed so many scars on the girl's hands sooner. They were quite peculiar since they were on both sides. If they were only on the fingers or the underside, she would guess it was from handling the knife, but this made little sense to her. This couldn't have been done by merely practicing with a knife or from some cooking accidents. This could have only been done by someone else's hand. Sometimes she saw similar scarring patterns in people who used their hands to block weapons in a heat of a battle when there was no other option, but those scars were much bigger and more prominent. These ones were small, although numerous, and weren't symmetrical on both sides of the hand. At the corner of her eyes, she could notice Law curiously watching the same thing, but neither of them mentioned it knowing it was not their place to ask such a thing. Just like the scars on Miyako's back that she got from her whipping on Jade Island, some things were better left unspoken between strangers.

"Would you feel more comfortable if I put my gloves back on?" Rei asked, lifting her eyes from her food to look at the two of them. There was nothing in her eyes that spoke about _her_ being uncomfortable or ashamed. She had accepted these scars a long time ago as the means of meeting Gin. "I didn't mean to make either of you uncomfortable. I actually forgot that my gloves were off."

Miyako was a bit flustered by Rei's words and paled as she realized how offensive she had been. Guilt tightened around her heart. She quickly set down her chopsticks and bowed her head in apology, "Not at all! I am truly sorry for staring, it was extremely rude of me!"

Rei laughed, waving off her apologies. "Nah, I would stare too. I just don't want you feeling uncomfortable about it. Some people are."

"It's more about curiosity than comfort," Law commented bluntly. He didn't mean to say anything since it wasn't his business, but now that Rei started the topic he deemed it fine to continue. "Those scars look like abuse wounds," he noted, remembering some of the more often signs of abuse that could be found on children. It was medically relevant so he read about it a long time ago.

"Well, it's probably because they are." Rei said as she looked at her own scars, flipping her hand from side to side. "I got them after I had been abducted from my birth family. I spent some time as a captive on that ship and one of the crew members found it fit to gift me with these." She shrugged, she had let go of any anger she had at that crew, no longer thinking them worthy to dedicate such anger towards. "I was eventually rescued by a Marine ship, which was oddly enough being managed by both Akainu and Aokiji at the time as they were transporting the Dowager Queen to Marineford to be executed. I was originally pretty angry and I was filled with a hatred for all pirates for what had happened to me, but through some usual circumstances, I got to know the Dowager and she was nothing like those pirates. She was kind, altruistic, and loving. She soothed my angry heart and helped me remember what it meant to love. She died sometime later, but I could never forget her or her lessons."

"Dowager Queen?" The Hearts looked at each other questioningly. "We don't have anyone by that name in our world...at least not anyone among the famous pirates," one of them added.

"Oh, right," Rei realized her mistake. "Kaneko Gin was a Denkou Dragian, so she would have never existed in your world." Which was for the best, in Rei's eyes. Gin had suffered a lot of heartache and at least she didn't have to repeat it over and over in other dimensions too. She reached over to her booklet, closing it now that its purpose had been fulfilled and opened it to the front page, where she kept her only copy of Gin's wanted poster. "Her original moniker was Longjohn Silver, it was said she could beguile a man and leave him in nothing but his longjohns before he could even realize it. However, after Roger became known as the Pirate King and Rayleigh as the Dark King, she became known as the King's Queen until he passed on and then was known as the Dowager Queen, since Roger's rule as the Pirate King was over. She met both Rayleigh and Roger right out of the gate, being the third member to join. The two had gone straight from Loguetown right into Grand Line in a small fishing boat. She was a… _bartender_ at the time at Whiskey Peak before it had been repurposed by Bounty Hunters."

Miyako could feel the tenderness in Rei's words as she spoke of that pirate. A part of her could relate, as she too had a person who opened her eyes to the world, only for them to be taken away from her side much too soon. "The world will rarely only give us sorrow. If we open our eyes, we shall always find the good on our path, as well," she recited the words her master would sometimes say to her. "My master used to say that to me when I would feel the world was too cruel. And he was right...good always followed the bad, and I often learned from my experiences no matter what kind they were," she smiled at the memory of the man who passed away a long time ago, or at least it seemed like a lifetime to her.

"My father use to say that if we only concentrate on the bad, then there will be no room in our hearts for the good that comes our way. I remember him constantly trying to drill that into Law's head, but he just wasn't ready to listen…" Her eyes became distant for a moment before she was pulled out of her thoughts. "It sounds like your master was just as wise as my father was!"

Miyako smiled brightly in response, "Indeed! We both have to be grateful for having them in our lives."

"Yeah, having girls like us probably wasn't easy! I was constantly trying to keep up with my brothers, so I ripped a lot of skirts when I tried to outdo them physically. Doesn't help when one of your brothers is a freaking bear when you're trying to wrestle him."

"You mean me?!" Bepo was both excited and surprised by her commented as he smiled widely.

"Fufufu," Miyako laughed at Rei's words that sounded all too familiar. "I remember Kiroi-san, the landlady of the house constantly reprimanding me for destroying all my kimonos," she mentioned. "But it was just impossible to train with the sword with so much fabric around your legs," she sighed, giving the same excuse she always gave her caretaker in her younger days.

"Or climb trees or buildings or even jump the distance between roof tops!" Rei agreed. "And then there's having to deal with running after others when they flip your skirt just to piss you off… I learned to wear pants, though that didn't mean they didn't get ruined time to time. Aria and Hinata were always reprimanding me for ruining my 'adorable' outfits, though never for being myself, but then again, I was getting reprimanded for pulling pranks on my siblings- not like Kyo was doing the same damn thing I was."

"Oh, I can't even count how many times I ended up fighting with the boys of my village," Miyako frowned at the memories. "But it must have been wonderful to have grown up with so many siblings around. I am an only child so I was always alone; either training or with my books…," she felt a bit embarrassed admitting that because of her choices to become a kenshi she hadn't had any friends when growing up. She only felt close to her master and the people of their household, exception of a few of her master's friends that she had the privilege of meeting.

"Having brothers and sisters was _not_ easy. All of them were extremely talented and accomplished in their own ways and two are actual _geniuses_." Rei shook her head as she thought about all the grief it brought her since she had been so behind academically to see the others breeze through it. It still irked her how Law would constantly taunt her with his accomplishments, knowing that she was highly competitive. "I had to deal with this shitface," she pointed her chopsticks accusingly at Law, forgetting herself in the heat of the moment. "For the entirety of my summers and whatever shit he decided to rain down on me. He _duct_ taped me to my bed once and then there was the time he swapped out Hinata's nice, _censored_ sexual education pictures with the illustrations from a damn Kama Sutra book! There went _my_ childhood innocence- what I kept from when I was living on the streets anyways."

All eyes suddenly pierced the pirate doctor, giving him an accusing frown that almost made the said man choke on his food. He did not expect such a revelation to come out of the girl's mouth. "What? It wasn't _me_!" He exclaimed in defense, perplexed as the rest of them. Another thing he realized was that in their world, both him and Bepo were a part of Rei's obviously quaint family. Brothers, she called them. That explained why she constantly had an urge to bicker with him. He frowned, realizing the feeling was mutual. "I'm sure you deserved everything you got. Besides, you look like a person who gives as hard as they get, so I'm guessing the other me must have suffered retribution for it."

"Ah shit…" Rei muttered at her slip up. She hadn't been sure how Law would react to the knowledge of his other self being practically her brother and had purposely kept it to herself, but she was used to having such an open, blunt relationship with him that it had slipped. She slumped back a bit as she muttered, "I _may_ have slipped some hair removal into his shampoo once…" She couldn't help the laugh at that admittance. "But the _look_ on his face! He deserved it! He cut off my pigtails! But we were banned from having any hair product that Aria didn't buy in the house for a year! He never took off his hat after that."

Even Miyako and the rest, Hearts and Strawhats alike, laughed at that, with only Law scowling darkly at the thought. He couldn't even imagine himself going bald and unconsciously ran his fingers through his slightly messy hair, while his hat was laid on the table next to him. Suddenly he had a strong feeling of caution towards the girl, deciding to keep an eye for any pranks just in case. He doubted she would dare, but he didn't want to risk her going too far down memory lane and forget that _he_ was not her brother. As the word formed in his head, he felt a strange feeling that made him frown. _Brother_. He only had one sister in his whole life and that was Lami. It was just too strange to imagine anyone else in her place. Clearing his throat, he decided to change his train of thought by returning to the topic. "In any case, you just stay away from my hair products," he muttered, giving Miyako a light glare when the samurai sniggered in return.

"I'd never do that to _you_." Rei stated in mock hurt. "What kind of person do you think I am? I solely pick on my older brothers and sister."

"A secretly devious one," Law answered in a blunt tone without a second thought. Not that he minded such a character trait, but he'd rather it wasn't aimed at him.

"If I was to do anything to you, it would not be in the way you would suspect." She winked playfully at him. "And I'd drag your girlfriend right down with you." She turned to Miyako with a sweet smile. "No offense, but as long as you're with him, you are a target in my mind."

"Aw, and here I was thinking of asking for some pointers on irking him in the future," the samurai whined in mockery, before grinning evilly. Not that she needed much help since she already learned what button to push with Law, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few things in her backup, just in case she needed revenge on him for acting...well, like him.

"Ooo, even better!" There was a mischievous grin on Rei's lips as her eyes sparkled at the idea. "Let's say you and I create an alliance of our own then, against Laws everywhere?"

Miyako laughed at the thought, "That sounds perfect."

"Uuh, Captain, you better watch out," Bepo warned warily as the two girls plotted the man's demise jokingly.

Law only sighed in exasperation, trying to suppress a very bad feeling about all this. His instincts told him it was better to not let those two get too close, that is, if he wanted to avoid the end of his peaceful days in the submarine.

"Hey Luffy, wanna join our alliance?" Rei asked, turning to look at Luffy with a toothy grin.

"Yeah! Shishishishi! Maybe Midori will join too! Then it'd be really fun!"

"Oh and Janette and Leon and Angel and Cassiopeia. Maybe we can even get Elias on board…." Rei agreed. She turned to look at Cody and Josh. "You wanna join?"

"How many people _are_ there against me in your world!?" Law exclaimed, unable to hold back anymore.

"Um, I don't think it's safe for us to answer that question," Joshua sweatdropped at Rei's proposal.

"Although sometimes, I understand where you're coming from," Cody added with a sigh, getting a dark glare from his captain.

"Law likes pissing off most of his crewmates from time to time. He purposely writes his already horrible scrawl worse than usual just to make things harder for Angel and 'Peia and even Oz when the poor mechanic gets roped into helping those two. All three are the only ones who can even remotely read his writing. He then is always taunting Janetta about her younger brother, Kidd, and then there's Leon and all the shit he's rained down on him in the last thirteen years of their relationship… which includes the _one_ time Leon got extremely inebriated, he woke up the next morning with an entire _tattoo_ _sleeve_ on his right arm as well as the word 'HEART' written on his fingers. Oh and then there was Elias and the whole cadaver incident. And then Ri is really just a lover of chaos and irritating Law is fun for her, especially since she's so good at it- but she's not actually on his crew. She just visits, like whenever she feels like it. And she's damn good at tracking him down." Rei listed off just a handful of reasons that the Hearts in her world would actually join such an alliance.

"It sounds like you have a fun crew on your side too," Cody grinned, happy that his captain found a good crew in his other life too. Even if it wasn't exactly the Law they knew, they were still glad everything worked out for him.

"Shishishishi, Torao's crew is really funny." Luffy agreed. "One of them even has a tail and he doesn't like shirts!"

"He's from the Tail Tribe. And Axsel wears shirts as long as he is on duty, but he does take off his shirt the moment his shift is over." Rei chimed in as if it was completely normal, but then again there were the Long Leg tribe, the Long Arm tribe, Fishmen, Merfolk, Giants, Minks, Dragons, and even such things as people with wings on their backs, so why couldn't there be a tribe of people with tails? Rei put a hand to her chin as she thought of something. "I wonder if he'd join the alliance…"

Law, on the other hand, wasn't amused. He kept wondering why he had to sit there and get accused of things _he_ didn't even do. "I get it already, so aren't we focusing too much on me and forgetting about the main issue," he reminded, hoping to get them all back on track and away from him as the main topic. Especially since Miyako was having too much fun with the idea of using Rei's intel against him, which was sure to bite him in the ass sooner or later.

"Yes, if that is all about the enemy crew, should we proceed with developing a strategy against them? Since we will be heading into the enemy lair without any good knowledge of the area, we will be in a disadvantage," Miyako started. As she talked, a quick hand shot from her side, aiming at the food in her bowl. Without even missing a beat, she suddenly and with lightning speed slammed the point of her chopstick that ended up piercing the egg along with the bowl underneath. The chopstick went closely between the hand's two fingers, stopping it from taking the piece of food that was now pierced through. Luffy's fingers twitched as he sweatdropped in nervousness, seeing he was busted in trying to steal her food as well as almost had his hand pierced. The only reason why the chopstick didn't end up piercing his hand was because Miyako willed it, only giving him a warning instead. The others felt cold sweat on their necks too as they watched the girl smile politely at the captain boy, though there was a dark aura swirling around her. "Luffy-san, it is impolite to steal food. If you wanted it, you should've just asked for it," she told him with a smile, though there was a scary aura seeping out of her.

The Hearts recognized it, knowing how Miyako acted when she was pissed. "S-scary," Bepo gulped.

"She might look nice and innocent, but she's actually a demon," Joshua whispered to the Strawhats as a warning. The Heart Pirates learned a long time ago not to seriously anger her as it usually ended up with her beating the crap out of them.

" _Damn_ , my new best friend, right there." Rei couldn't help but laugh as she pointed at Miyako, completely unafraid. She had grown up with huge ass dragons who were highly territorial around food. If they couldn't scare her, than nothing could anymore- except Tetsuya's, Nanami's, Hinata's, and Yuudai's wrath. But that was a different sort a fear.

"Poor girl," Zoro couldn't help but tease, knowing quite well what Perona and Rei did as best friends. This girl did not seem the type to like things like what those two did to bond. But honestly, that was when Perona was present, so the poor female samurai had lucked out a bit, Rei wasn't quite as bad without her Gothic Lolita best friend.

Rei didn't even look at him as she flipped him off, eyes still focused on Miyako.

The said samurai turned her focus to the Dragian for a bit, hearing her words. "Well, I did have to learn to mind myself since I live with 21 men and a male bear in a submarine," she winked at the other girl before returning her focus back to Luffy.

"I already have experience battling with the other you for meals since we sailed on the same ship for a while," the samurai continued with that same smile plastered on her face. It wasn't the first time she had to watch for her food while still eating since the Strawhats' every meal was like fighting off a pack of hungry wolves. At first she was left stunned, she would complain to Luffy for taking her food, while some others of the Strawhats would use that chance to sneakily take bits of her food from her plate, until in the end she would turn and realize everything was gone. Very soon she learned how to keep her own food from the gluttonous captain, Brook, and sometimes Chopper who just wanted to join the fun, or even Robin who just wanted to tease her.

The Strawhat quickly returned his hand, looking away with sweat forming on his forehead since he was obviously guilty of the deed, though he pouted a bit for not succeeding.

"I suppose you are right though. It is time to focus on the upcoming battle." Rei nodded, setting her food aside and turning back to Miyako's original suggestion. "Now that we've all bonded a bit, I think that it might be easier for the teams to work together. Way to go on the ice breaker," she winked at Miyako before clearing her throat and beginning. "There seems to be only seven known members of the Sea Rats, each specializing in different fields. I already know that neither Law or Luffy are going to want to fight anyone other than Murdock-"

"If he's the guy who did this to this nice place, I wanna beat him up!" Luffy called over to their table from his spot at his own private table filled with empty dishes.

"After what he did to my crew, there's no way I'm letting him get away with it," Law answered at the same time as the other captain, as his voice suddenly became ice cold.

"Right, big egos and the need to prove who has more testosterone between the two of you." Rei rolled her eyes. "First one there gets the guy. Is that _alright_ with you two?"

Law smirked, already deciding that he had no intention of losing to Luffy on this. "That's just fine."

"Shishishi, sounds like fun!" Luffy nodded, unaware of any sort of insult that Rei had spoken as he went back to eating his meal.

"As for the others- I don't think that we really need to focus much on Glenavon, so one man against him would suffice, any takers?" She glanced at Josh, remembering his earlier comment. "How about you? Wanna take out the big brute for us?"

"Gladly, I have unfinished business with that guy anyway," he scowled at the memory of the bastard who offended their crew.

"Wow, you are taking the guy all by yourself. Joshua is really growing up to be a big boy, handling it all on your own," the samurai couldn't help but tease him, mockingly wiping a non-existent tear from the corner of her eye.

"Don't you start, Bakaonna, or _you_ will be the one waking up with no hair one morning," he glared, reminding her of all the wonderful ideas Rei gave them for pranks in the future. It was his turn to get even with her anyway, after gluing him to his seat in the galley a few days ago. He had to stand up forcefully and rip his boiler suit in the process, before walking out with a clear view of his boxers with hearts on them for everyone to see. Then afterwards, Miyako got chewed up by Zeek for it since the tailor had to re-sew Josh's overall. Just to be sure he got his point across, a single scalpel appeared between his fingers as he pulled it out from a mechanism on his wrist that he kept hidden underneath his sleeve.

"Fufufufufu, you might want to start regulating what is allowed on the ship, Law-san." Robin gave Law a teasing grin. While Rei was sniggering beside her.

The captain just shook his head, knowing there was no way he would ever be able to stop the crew from pulling their crazy shenanigans every now and then. It wouldn't be the first time pranks were pulled on his ship, even whole prank wars occurred before. Mostly, Law would pretend not to notice unless it got too out of hand and he decided to put an end to it before someone ends up tossed over the deck.

"Anyways, Robin, you said you'd like the opportunity to sway Ligeia's mind about her alliance with the Sea Rats?" Rei turned to look at the woman sitting next to her.

"That would be appreciative. If I fail and she proceeds to try to cook me from the outside-in, however, I would greatly appreciate having someone with an understanding of Haki with me to fight her off. We might not win, but perhaps we can distract her long enough for her to realize what we are trying to tell her is true."

"Very well then," Rei looked around the room. She already had an idea of who would go up against the others from her crew, so she looked at Cody sweetly. "Would you, perchance, know how to use Haki?"

The medic was a bit startled that she asked him of all people. He took out a pack of his cigarettes and pulled one with his teeth. "I'm honored you'd ask, but I must say my haki awakened just recently. I'm still figuring it out. Will that be enough?" He started to light the cigarette.

"May I?" Rei quickly but gently took the lighter from him, but instead of using it, she snapped her fingers playfully as a single red flame appeared at the tip of her pointer finger. As she lit the cigarette for him, she gave him a cunning look. "You might be new to it, but the best time to learn is always in the heat of battle. You learn things about yourself that you never knew prior. Besides, Robin will be there and while she isn't completely proficient at it, she too has just awakened hers. Between the two of you, I'm confident that you can take her."

Cody blinked in shock at first when a flame appeared right out of her finger, but then laughed in amusement, "Practical." He blew out a smoke, enjoying the taste of it after just finishing his meal. "In that case, I will do my best," he smiled, before nodding to Robin.

"Excellent." Robin gave him one of her own brilliant smiles, chuckling at how fun this opportunity would be. "I always wanted to fight a ghost!"

"With that decided," Rei continued, the flame on her finger vanishing as she waved it about for a second, "There is still Brill, Dr. Burrows, Ebbie, and Kamui to consider. I think I probably should go up against the monk personally. I understand qi, so just in case he is capable of using it, no one will have to worry about being overwhelmed. As for Brill, I would usually just suggest Sanji, but if they are hiding in a cave, which I suspect they are, then he might need a little assistance, someone with more… animalistic instincts and senses." She glanced at Bepo. "Would you mind assisting Sanji, Bepo-kun?"

"I can do it! My kung-fu can surely beat that guy's fishman karate," he smiled to Rei before turning towards the cook with a slight frown, "Don't try to overshadow me when we get there, Black Leg!"

"Like I'm going to lose Rei-pyon's affections to a _bear_!" Sanji raged, already fired up. He had started to pay attention only after Rei had said his name, but he got the gist of what was going on. "I could probably take this fish faced loser all by myself!"

At the mention of him being a bear, Bepo quickly bowed his head in depression. "I'm sorry for being a bear…."

"And possibly get carried away, cause a cave in, or possibly be caught in a dark cavern where you can't see as well as a Fishman or a Mink." Rei listed off rather bluntly. "Bepo-kun has instincts that can be a great asset and his ability to see in the dark might come in handy if they are to use that as a tactic to gain the upperhand. Do not argue with me Sanji, just do it."

It was Sanji's turn to become depressed as he lowered his head as well. "Yes Rei-pyon…"

Zoro was laughing heartily in the corner before Rei turned her attention to him. "As for you, I am assigning Nami to watch you. Knowing you, you'll probably get lost, run right into the very enemy you'll need to fight, and then not know how to get back to the rest of us. Nami will be chaperoning you since we can't have you lost too long, _Zo-ro-kun~_."

Zoro stopped laughing, now Sanji was. "I don't need a damn babysitter!"

"Poor Nami," Usopp whispered to Chopper. "She's not even here to argue her point. That must have been why she had been assigned to get the clothes."

"Rei is sneaky and underhanded like that." Chopper agreed.

The two of them shivered when they heard a growl and realized that Rei was glaring at them. Sometimes the others forgot how good her hearing was until it was used against them.

"Looks like they have a demon of their own in their crew," Joshua whispered to his crewmates.

"Human women are scary," once again, Bepo concluded after seeing both Miyako's and Rei's darker sides.

"I _can_ hear you, you realize this, correct." Rei gave them a rather unamused look, a frown marring her expression. At the same time, Miyako glared at the men too, while warning them, "We _can_ hear you!"

"We're sorry!" Instantly the Hearts' trio exclaimed, not wanting to see Rei's angry side as well. Reason told them it wasn't wise to anger a dragon, no matter what form they had or be it only a half dragon or not.

"So since Zoro is somewhat of a russian roulette when it comes to who he stumbles upon, is there someone you would rather fight? Ebbie and Dr. Burrows are the two available currently, but I have a feeling that Zoro might stumble onto Ebbie. His luck is odd that way. I blame the cursed blade, Sandai Kitetsu, he has for that." Zoro seemed drawn to certain individuals, especially since obtaining the blade, like it was leading him to where it wanted to go.

"In that case, leave the _kind_ doctor to me," Miyako concluded with sarcasm towards this pirate doctor of the Sea Rats. She doubted he was anything like Law in that regard, even if they had the same title.

"Excellent." Rei nodded. "Then all we really need is Nami's expertise to properly navigate through the caves in case it winds around a bit. Following the Vivrecard will help, but she will need to know these by heart to get us _out_ afterwards… that is, if Luffy or you don't cause a cave in with your battle and _give_ us a rather violent means of an exit." It had happened before.

Law simply clicked his tongue and looked to the side at Rei's words that were pointed towards him and the other captain. "I can mind my powers," he responded.

"Mm-hmm," Rei sounded like she didn't really believe that. "I've seen you two together before. That was a disaster. Plus, Luffy is really destructive, so adding you on top just spells trouble."

Nami came in almost after that, tossing a bag at Rei right as she entered. She was already dressed in something clean. "It took me damn near forever to find our things in that rubble, but your clothes are undamaged." She then made a beeline towards the kitchen. "Sanji! I would like breakfast."

She noticed Usopp and Chopper giving her pitiful looks and she blinked at them rather confused. "What? What did I miss?"

"Nami, just so you know, you've been a really great friend. You will be missed." Usopp told her, bowing his head.

"It was nice knowing you, Nami." Chopper echoed.

"Wh-what does that mean!" Nami sounded a little freaked out by those words. What did she miss?

"You get to come with us on our field trip to certain death!" Robin smiled as she broke the news to the navigator.

"Don't say it like that!" Nami raged before understanding what Robin was saying. "What?! I have to go? Why!?"

"You're on Zoro duty, plus, we need you to get out once we conclude our business with these people." Rei told her simply, not at all sorry for her decision.

"But- but!" She tried to argue, tears forming in the sides of her eyes.

"It's either you help us and risk dying or you don't and we get lost and _everyone_ dies." Rei gave her a taunting smirk. "I will throw you over my shoulder if I have to Nami. You're needed or otherwise I'd leave you here."

"Damn it." Nami sighed in defeat. "I got stuck with the monsters…"

Rei turned in her seat to glance at where Brook was now playing the piano and also at Usopp. "Usopp, that means you stay here. Help with the surveillance if you aren't need with the reconstruction. Brook, you keep a good eye on Nicoletta."

"I will defend her with my life," the skeleton bowed slightly from his spot at the piano. He perked up a moment later as he came to a sudden realization. "Ah! But I'm already dead! Yohohohohoho~! Skull joke!"

Nicoletta looked a little skeptical but Rei quickly reassured her. "He's like that, but he's also dependable. If he asks about your panites, you have permission to smack him."

Rei grabbed her bag, getting up to stand. "With that all settled. I guess I should gear up then so we can be ready to go." She was picking up her swords as she made one final comment to Nami. "The maps we were looking for were with Trafalgar, so study up while I'm changing, neh?"

"Sure…" Nami sighed depressingly.

She quickly glanced at Miyako, "Would you like to accompany me? I bet I have a warmer coat in here for you. I don't really need it. Plus, I might need some help with my leather corset. It's hard to reach the laces."

The samurai stood up from her seat with a nod. "Of course."

"We can meet up in front of the tavern again when everyone is ready to go, and see where the Vivecard takes us," Trafalgar concluded. He could see the small paper was already moving towards the Western side in Nicoletta's palm.

"Sure." Rei nodded. "I'll only be about half an hour tops, but let Nami get something to eat before we drag her anywhere." She took Miyako's hand with a mischievous grin. "Now come along, dear best friend, you and I have _tons_ to talk about."

This new friendship was both unusual and amusing to Miyako, since she rarely had a chance to spend a lot of time with girls her age. Or girls at all for that matter. Only recently did she get more of female companionship with meeting Robin and Nami after Punk Hazard and spending some time on the Sunny-Go, but the samurai was still quite new to those things. She was glad to finally have a chance to see what it was like to have a girl similar to herself as a friend, one who didn't comply to norms and didn't fret blades as other women in Wanokuni did. Besides, she was excited to hear of any weakness Rei might have on Law. "Gladly," she grinned wickedly at her captain before letting herself be led by the Dragian.

"Oy," Trafalgar called after them, guessing exactly what Miyao was thinking. He didn't like it one bit, but before he could word out his complaints, the girls were already out the door.

"Fufufufu, looks like you better watch your back, Torao," Robin chuckled amusedly. "The only other people in the world other than Rei that know more about you and any possible weaknesses you may have are Leon-san, Bepo-san, and Nanami-sama." She turned to look at Franky with her own mischievous look. "Franky, didn't the lot of them hang around with you when they were younger?"

"Yeah, I am practically their super big brother figure." He boasted, rubbing a finger under his nose. "I can remember all sorts of super things about them before Law debuted as a pirate and before Rei went traveling around Paradise, especially all those games, pranks, and nicknames they use to torment each other with."

For once, Law's bored expression was replaced by one of disbelief that he just couldn't hide. He was horrified by the thought that even this underwear pervert knew about his darkest secrets and deepest thoughts. What kind of family did the other Trafalgar live in?!

"Possibly embarrassing stories too?" Robin looked over at Law with a mirthful stare. As much as she loved Rei, she loved stirring the pot more.

"Yeah, I had to be their referee for their super favorite game they played. It was this weird card game they made up called Leverage. The super embarrassing things they did because of that game is endless." Franky agreed, unsure of why it was so relevant, but answered the woman nonetheless.

 _*Damn you, Nico-ya, you're doing this on purpose!*_ Law's thoughts towards the older woman were completely visible as he gave her a somewhat panicked glare. If this continued, who knows what kinds of things the Cyborg might reveal to his crew. He could see Joshua, Cody and Bepo listening in earnest to what will Franky say next, interested in this games the other Law used to play. He knew Robin was teasing him on purpose, even if she pretended to simply be innocently conversing with her crewmate. He could see it in her mischievous smile.

He still cursed the Dragian for even talking about his younger days, even if they were very different from his own. Nonetheless, he could tell this other Law had a similar mind and interests, so he wouldn't be surprised if something embarrassing came up that would also apply to him. However, two could play that game, he thought evilly. Now that Rei was gone, he could get some interesting information on her that could serve as _leverage_ later on. Now he just had to deter this conversation in a direction he wanted without being suspicious about it. "I see you know Miss Rei quite well, Robo-ya. How was it living with her, she seems like a handful," he asked nonchalantly, trying to hide his interest. In best case scenario, Franky will tell him how they handled Rei and her quirks, manipulations and teasing with that question. Any information would be useful at this point.

"Maaaah, where do I start?" Franky laughed. "She didn't _live_ with me, but at her old man's house. Normally things were pretty quiet, but summers were chaos since all of them were there!" And from there, Franky instantly went into telling a bunch of stories about his favorite little sister, both sweet and horrendously embarrassing while they waited.

Law's piercing eyes never wavered from the Cyborg, soaking in all the information that he could use against the girl for later. He especially paid close attention to the embarrassing ones that he could remind her of later if she were to decide to tease him again.

Meanwhile, Rei and Miyako were having a few fun conversations themselves.

"By the way," Rei purposely asked once they were out of earshot. "Is this Trafalgar as ticklish as the one in my world?"

Miyako's golden eyes glistened at the exciting thought. "I don't know, I never had the opportunity to try. Where exactly would that weak spot be," she asked while grinning.

" _Pft_ , where is he _not_ ticklish would be the better question!" Was Rei's laughing response.

"Oh, I've _got_ to try that one time! Especially when he gets all serious like that, furrowing his eyebrows. I wonder how threatening he would be able to be once I start tickling his sides," she laughed along with the girl.

"Exactly!" Rei giggled. "Just be careful. I had Leon and Kaito to help pin him. He gets a bit violent when he is trying to make you stop, but that's what makes it all the funnier, how hard he tries to escape. Oh, and make sure you use a bit of haki, he tries to teleport away sometimes."

Trafalgar was definitely in trouble if he _was_ ticklish as her brother. Rei was making damn sure of it.

~...~

Juanita went through piles of books and papers, reading everything at a remarkable speed and remembering all the facts important to her research. She was a fast reader, and could easily remember all the content in even the thickest books without a glitch. The blonde was an intelligent woman, even if her husband spent most of their marital life telling her otherwise until the woman believed him and had no confidence in herself left. She still carried his last name that was completely unbefitting of the lousy drunkard he was, though she was technically a widow now; Lionheart.

As intelligent as she was, the woman had one flaw that made even the smartest of people turn foolish sometimes; love. She always fell in love with wrong men, although she could never see it for herself until it was too late. Soon after their marriage, her husband started selling her to any man that could pay the price, often beating her and belittling her to top it all off. She became nothing more than a prostitute. That was until one day her husband got too drunk, which was nothing unusual, and picked a fight with the wrong man; Captain Murdock. He didn't last long before his throat was slit by the pirate. Murdock only saw it as getting rid of an obstacle, but Juanita saw it as an act of salvation. She was so grateful to the pirate, she thought it was love at first sight. That's why, even after she got to know his sadistic nature, she embraced him all the same and came to love every part of him, even that darkest side. She was no stranger to pain anyway, and there was nothing she couldn't take if it was for him. Her hand unconsciously went to the right side of her face which was badly burned and crinkled, curtsy of her husband and one of his darker drunken moods many years ago. Yet even with that awful scar that she cursed for years after, Murdock still accepted her love and embraced her. Even if Ebbie keeps making jokes about her being nothing more than a toy, a pastime for him, Juanita didn't care because she was happy being with him no matter what.

Her target of adoration stepped into the room, just as she started daydreaming about him. "What did you find?" He went over to the old desk she was sitting at and stared at the papers over her shoulder. There were wanted posters scattered all around, of two pirate crews, along with everything she could find about the Snowflake island and the strange phenomenon. Juanita was his top researcher after all, since she had a photographic memory that could easily remember any data she sees once.

"It is the Strawhat and the Heart Pirate crews that we are facing. I found everyone's information except for one member," she turned to gaze at her captain. "This Yokoyama Rei. She is not in any of the wanted posters for the Strawhats."

"Makes sense since these Strawhats are from this other world that merged with ours," Murdock murmured in thought.

"Yes, I have found some tales that speak about this merge on Snowflake island. Before it just sounded like tall tales or gibberish, but now it all makes sense after what we witnessed," the woman continued.

She proceeded to tell him everything she found out about the rift in their dimension, along with all she knew about the pirate crews they were facing. "One last thing…this Nicoletta Klaus, who is actually Hisui's wife…It seems she is a dragon."

Murdock tilted his head as if he heard it wrong, "What?"

"By what the surviving Blade Pirates told me of what they witnessed, she is a dragon that can somehow manipulate space. But just like Hisui, she is weakened by using her powers for the merge."

The captain grinned widely in satisfaction, "This day just gets better and better. I love this island, don't you!?" He laughed maniacally.

Just then the doors slammed opened and the cloaked figure entered the room. Juanita frowned as her alone time with her lover was so rudely interrupted. "Ligeia, haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

The other person finally removed their hood, deeming it was dark enough in the room to do so, revealing a woman. She strode over towards Murdock in haste, ignoring Juanita's comment. "You never told me anything about this whole island and its people being destroyed!"

The captain shrugged nonchalantly, "I only heard it myself when Klaus said it. But it matters not. We have what we need…or at least we will when I finally break him. He hasn't given me an answer yet, the stubborn man," he sighed. "So he's being tortured right now," he added with a smile, lightheartedly.

"You are truly a monster, as Hisui said," Ligeia commented.

"How dare you-!" The other woman started with a shout, but the captain interrupted her by holding out his finger for her to stop talking.

He stepped towards the cloaked woman, towering over her. "Aren't we being a teeeensy bit hypocritical. After all, you are the one helping this monster for a prize."

Her glare only deepened. "Only because you caught me in my will-o-wisp form and I can't deny granting the wish of anyone who asks for it when I'm caught. It's one of the…drawbacks of my devil fruit," she sneered.

"And you kept that secret very well hidden before I started researching you. It wasn't easy to catch on that detail, believe me." Juanita smirked.

"I don't even care about the money you offered. You only did that to pacify me, I know. As a wisp I was to lead you to your wish, and now I have done my job. Now release me of my duty and I will be on my way," she growled.

The man clicked his tongue a few times in mockery. "But you haven't, have you?" He grinned as he saw the confused look on her ghostly pale face. "My wish is to become immortal by using Klaus' powers. You led me to him _,_ but not to my true wish…not until it's been granted. Only then can you be released. Until then, your fate is to help me."

"That kind of loophole,-" Ligeia started in a yell, both shocked and angered by his betrayal of his promise.

"It might be a loophole, but it's keeping your fate tied to mine and it will remain so until I get what I want!" The man slammed his fist on the table, making Juanita flinch in surprise. He was losing his patience and this signified the discussion was over.

Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth in anger, the ghost woman wanted nothing more than to burn him to death, alas she couldn't. She knew he was right; their fates were still entwined, meaning she couldn't kill him. Her devil fruit was holding her back and she _couldn't_ do it as long as she was bound by her duty to him. Cursed be the day she let herself fall into this man's trap! Knowing there was nothing more to say, she yanked her hood back on her head and turned to leave, slamming the doors behind her.


End file.
